New Thai Prime Minister Expected By Mid-August

[webfact]

NEXT GOVERNMENT

Next PM expected by mid-August

By The Nation

By mid-August, Thailand is expected to have a new prime minister, officials from the Secretariat of the Cabinet and from Parliament said yesterday.

A Cabinet meeting has been scheduled today as the last meeting for the outgoing Abhisit Vejjajiva government. Among items on the agenda is the preparation for the opening of the House of Representatives, said a source from the Secretariat of the Cabinet who asked not to be named.

The Election Commission is scheduled today to endorse the first batch of successful candidates as members of Parliament. Only winning MP candidates who are clear of complaints or opposition related to the July 3 election can be endorsed. The EC has 30 days for investigation of challenged cases.

The Constitution requires the first House convention within 30 days after the election with at least 95 per cent of the total MPs attending.

"From its initial meeting, the Election Commission had informed that the endorsement of the second batch of MPs would be on July 19 and the third batch on the 26th. However, the Secretariat of the Cabinet asked the EC to approve at least 475 MPs in the second round, as July 26 would be too close to the deadline of August 1," the source said.

PM's deputy secretary-general Panitan Wattanayagorn said the Cabinet would approve the preparation in principle, but it would be for the EC to designate the date.

Cabinet secretary-general Ampon Kitti-ampon will coordinate with the EC, Panitan said.

A Parliament source, who also asked not to be named, said the EC would approve the election results and endorse at least 475 MPs by next week. Abhisit is expected to submit documents for the royal command for the House of Representatives' opening ceremony by July 20, then the first House convention can take place in the next few days.

The MPs will vote to select a House Speaker and deputies during the first House meeting, the source said. The Speaker can call a meeting to select the prime minister in the following week.

A senior source from the EC who asked not to be named said more than 300 MPs were expected to be endorsed today.

The EC will follow the advice of its legal team in first endorsing Pheu Thai MP-elect Jatuporn Promphan, a red-shirt leader now detained in jail and whose qualification is controversial. The EC can later ask the House Speaker to file a complaint with the Constitution Court to consider his qualification.

The election has passed so it is beyond the EC's authority to consider Jatuporn's qualification, the source said.

Election Administration Office director Metha Silaphan said the difference between constituency and party-list ballots was actually 167,000, not 80,000 as previously said.

"After examination, we found 90 per cent of the difference came from advance voting, both abroad and outside constituency voting, as the ballot cards were put in envelopes. An extra ballot card was mistakenly given to a voter," he said.

Metha said errors also occurred while recording voter-turnout information. A number of 11,681 was recorded while it was actually 101,681 voters.

Of 46,939,548 eligible voters, 35,220,370 voted for party-list MPs while 35,220,537 voted for constituency MPs, Metha said.

In a separate development, Democrat deputy spokesman Boonyod Sukthinthai filed a complaint with the EC to investigate whether the Pheu Thai Party violated

election law by giving benefits to the media, as claimed in an e-mail to a former Thai Rak Thai executive. He also asked the EC to verify qualifications of Pheu Thai MP candidates including Jatuporn.

-- The Nation 2011-07-12

[sprq]

Why so long? Wasn't the Thai system modelled on the British one, not the Israeli one? In other words, the defeated PM is out the door within hours of conceding defeat and the new one immediately walks in.

Oh, right, this is Thailand.

[whybother]

Why so long? Wasn't the Thai system modelled on the British one, not the Israeli one? In other words, the defeated PM is out the door within hours of conceding defeat and the new one immediately walks in.

Oh, right, this is Thailand.

"MODELED" doesn't mean an exact copy.

[Galong]

That's a slightly deceptive title. I opened it thinking that Yingluck was going to be replaced, perhaps by big brother ---- silly me.

[JohnAllan]

. . . The EC can later ask the House Speaker to file a complaint with the Constitution Court to consider his qualification . . . . . . The election has passed so it is beyond the EC's authority to consider Jatuporn's qualification, the source said . . .

Well, we can be absolutely certain, on the back of the EC's buck-passing, that Jatuporn will be back, and once more hiding behind his parliamentary privilege status.

Never mind a toothless tiger, the EC would be hard pushed to challenge my mother - were she still alive - with her teeth still soaking in the glass of cleanser.

Edited July 12, 2011 by JohnAllan

[h90]

Why so long? Wasn't the Thai system modelled on the British one, not the Israeli one? In other words, the defeated PM is out the door within hours of conceding defeat and the new one immediately walks in.

Oh, right, this is Thailand.

You ever worked in Thailand??

1-2 month is immediately in Thailand.

[JohnAllan]

That's a slightly deceptive title. I opened it thinking that Yingluck was going to be replaced, perhaps by big brother ---- silly me.

Give it time . . .

[rubl]

That's a slightly deceptive title. I opened it thinking that Yingluck was going to be replaced, perhaps by big brother ---- silly me.

Strictly speaking the "The Speaker can call a meeting to select the prime minister in the following week." means the MP's select a PM from amongst their midst.

[avalonmick]

Withint the British model there are very few challenges to the legitimacy of a candidate, hence those who get the most votes are assumed to be elected - or will be when the electoral officer declares the result.

Here there are so many challenges - often for good reason - that no such assumptions can be made, hence the makeup of the House cannot be known until all challenges have been dealt with and the result declared or a new poll [for that seat] called.

So the 'delay' is about the same, just that in Britain, Canada, New Zealand and other british based systems the incoming PM calls a meeting of the elected MPs and gets on with governing straight away.

Here there are checks and balances that allow for the delay, meaning the outgoing PM stays there until all the seats are resolved.

Why so long? Wasn't the Thai system modelled on the British one, not the Israeli one? In other words, the defeated PM is out the door within hours of conceding defeat and the new one immediately walks in.

Oh, right, this is Thailand.

You ever worked in Thailand??

1-2 month is immediately in Thailand.