Thai Election Commission Endorses Abhisit, Yingluck

[SICHONSTEVE]

The elections law did not prohibit the involvement of barred party executives in political activities. The ban was limited to holding office.

In big bold letters, a statement of what the law is. Now, will any of the people screaming in the forums cease and desist from making claims that there was an illegal act?

I think there is a dead crow on the road near the Phuket aerodrome. Perhaps it can be cooked up,. some balloons hung near one of the Patong beer bars and the TVF "legal experts" can come by and feast on some delicious crow.

"Some members of 'House No.111' were involved in choosing party list and constituency candidates, and they also determine the policies of Pheu Thai, such as 'Thaksin Thinks, Pheu Thai acts'," Mr Wirat said.

Article 97 of the constitution clearly states that executives from any disbanded party are prohibited from being involved with any other party during the suspension period, he said".

Whoever wrote this supposed statement of the law was clearly oblivious of article 97 of the constitution which states that ant banned politicians cannot be involved with other parties during their suspension period so THEY clearly don't understand or know what they are talking about!!!

So I guess that leaves Pheu Thai of being in the perilous position of being disbanded as they appear quite, quite dumb when it comes to the legal aspects of electoral law - and the people expect them to run the country??????

[WinnieTheKhwai]

The elections law did not prohibit the involvement of barred party executives in political activities. The ban was limited to holding office.

In big bold letters, a statement of what the law is. Now, will any of the people screaming in the forums cease and desist from making claims that there was an illegal act?

I think there is a dead crow on the road near the Phuket aerodrome. Perhaps it can be cooked up,. some balloons hung near one of the Patong beer bars and the TVF "legal experts" can come by and feast on some delicious crow.

Maybe you'll be eating crow when your beloved hero has turned Thailand into the next Burma. Or maybe not. Would that make you happy?

Next Singapore perhaps. I think the deciding factor is if it makes enough Thai people happy. And we've seen that it will.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

So I understand this and please correct me if I am wrong.... As long as Thaksin does not hold an official position he can ask his sister to do whatever he likes...

Just as long as she is the person that announces it...

All she has to say is that they discussed and she thought it was a good idea...

Honestly, you have a problem with that??

Come on, join reality once in a while.

[Throatwobbler]

The elections law did not prohibit the involvement of barred party executives in political activities. The ban was limited to holding office.

In big bold letters, a statement of what the law is. Now, will any of the people screaming in the forums cease and desist from making claims that there was an illegal act?

I think there is a dead crow on the road near the Phuket aerodrome. Perhaps it can be cooked up,. some balloons hung near one of the Patong beer bars and the TVF "legal experts" can come by and feast on some delicious crow.

Maybe you'll be eating crow when your beloved hero has turned Thailand into the next Burma. Or maybe not. Would that make you happy?

Next Singapore perhaps. I think the deciding factor is if it makes enough Thai people happy. And we've seen that it will.

I'm sorry Winnie we haven't seen if it will make Thai people happy.. We've seen that the electorate believe in wild promises. What PTP deliver will see if the electorate are happy. If they deliver and the people are happy then that is good. If they fail to deliver then that is a different story.

[webfact]

Yingluck moves step closer to becoming PM

by Thanaporn Promyamyai

BANGKOK, July 20, 2011 (AFP) - Thailand's prime minister-in-waiting Yingluck Shinawatra was on Tuesday approved to enter parliament, election officials said, paving the way for her to become the country's first female premier.

Yingluck, the sister of ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, was given the go-ahead by Thailand's Election Commission (EC), after it delayed ratifying her over campaign irregularity claims last week.

The vote body dismissed the allegations against Yingluck, whose Puea Thai Party won a thumping majority at the July 3 election.

"The committee has investigated the facts and cannot find any violations of electoral law," EC secretary-general Suthipon Thaveechaiyagarn told reporters after a commission meeting.

Outgoing premier Abhisit Vejjajiva was also among the 12 parliamentary candidates endorsed Tuesday to become members of the 500-seat lower house.

Although 370 candidates have now been approved by the EC, another 105 must be ratified for parliament to convene, as required, within 30 days of the election.

About three-fifths of the lower chamber's seats are set to be held by a six-party coalition formed by political novice Yingluck.

The vote body's delayed endorsement had raised questions over her appointment and fears of fresh instability in the politically divided country.

In the most extreme scenario, the electoral commission can issue a "red card" to a candidate, which would mean a one-year ban from politics.

Any move to disqualify Yingluck would have risked further ruptures in Thailand's already fractured political landscape and enraged the opposition "Red Shirt" protest movement, whose rallies in Bangkok last year turned deadly.

The vote body dismissed the complaints by Abhisit's Democrat Party that banned politicians were involved in Yingluck's campaign.

She was cleared earlier of a separate complaint that she sought to buy votes by giving away noodles she cooked during campaigning.

Two Thaksin parties have been dissolved by the courts in the past and their top executives, including the former leader, were barred from politics.

While the slogan "Thaksin thinks, Puea Thai does", was prominent ahead of the election, Yingluck has said she received only guidance from her brother, who lives in self-imposed exile to avoid a jail sentence for corruption.

Abhisit was cleared over allegations that the sale of discount goods at a fair he attended constituted vote-buying.

In another case, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which campaigned to persuade people not to vote for any party and is fiercely opposed to Thaksin, is seeking to void the election result because two million Thais were not able to vote.

A court ruling is expected on Wednesday.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-07-20

[webfact]

EC clears way for Yingluck

By Prapasri Osathanon

The Nation

Endorsement leaves Pheu Thai No 1 poised to become country's first woman PM; Abhisit also gets nod but red shirts' fate hangs in balance

Pheu Thai's top candidate Yingluck Shinawatra is now officially qualified to be Thailand's first female PM candidate after the Election Commission yesterday endorsed her and an additional 11 MPs-elect, including Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.

However, the number of total endorsed MPs is still short of that required to open the House.

Democrat former secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban and Pheu Thai's Chinnicha Wongsawat as well as Winai Pataraprasit and Thanin Jaisamut of Chart Thai Pattana were also endorsed as MPs. MP endorsements for Democrat Ong-art Klampaiboon and core red-shirt leaders were still pending.

The Constitution requires the prime minister to be a member of the House.

So far, 208 Pheu Thai MPs out of 265 MPs-elect have been endorsed - while, 120 out of 159 elected Democrats have been endorsed.

The EC has endorsed a total of 370 MPs, including 259 constituency and 111 party-list MPs, who won the July 3 election. To meet the minimum requirement of 475, at least 105 more MPs need to be endorsed for the first convention of the House.

No new election (yellow card) was ordered yesterday as previously reported.

EC member Sodsri Satayathum said opposition to Yingluck's victory, based on the involvement of banned politicians in her election campaign, was dropped as the law prohibits banned politicians from founding parties or being political party executives, while allowing them to join in political activities.

The complaint against Abhisit of abusing power to hold a promotional trade fair on advance election day was also dropped. The EC investigators also found complaints against Suthep groundless and dropped his case as well.

More investigation has yet to be completed in the case of the core red-shirt leaders. The EC will meet again tomorrow to discuss other MP endorsements.

During the day, red shirts, yellow shirts and state enterprise workers gathered in front of the Election Commission headquarters building.

The Thai People's Assembly, led by yellow-shirt leaders Chaiwat Sinsuwong and Admiral Bannawit Kengrien, gathered to call for the Election Commission not to endorse the election victory of the remaining MPs-elect after the endorsement of 358 MPs last week.

At the same time, 50 red-shirt protesters led by Jeng Dokjik and Chinnawat Haboonpad called for the EC to endorse the victory of Pheu Thai's top party-list candidate Yingluck Shinawatra.

Police asked both groups to stop using speakers in the area. The red shirts agreed, but Chaiwat's group refused to do so and blamed police for seizing their speaker truck, arousing angry responses among the red shirts.

Representatives from the Metropolitan Electricity Authority yesterday asked the EC to expedite MP endorsement so that the country could move forward, especially in relation to the Bt300 minimum wage policy they are expecting.

The red shirts gathering at Pheu Thai's headquarters hailed Yingluck's endorsement. Their leaders, Thida Thawornseth and Kokaew Pikulthong, said they were waiting to see more developments before deciding on future actions.

-- The Nation 2011-07-20

[whybother]

Abhisit was cleared over allegations that the sale of discount goods at a fair he attended constituted vote-buying.

Surely, the video evidence provided by PTP showed that he shouldn't be cleared. They were so confident. There's those double standards again.

edit: What's that you say? They didn't present any video evidence? Well, there's one 'standard' you can count on - the PTP's ability to BS about video evidence.

Edited July 20, 2011 by whybother

[geriatrickid]

Maybe you'll be eating crow when your beloved hero has turned Thailand into the next Burma. Or maybe not. Would that make you happy?

Mr. Thaksin is not my beloved hero. There is no evidence to support that Thailand will become another Burma. Do you know why? Thailand doesn't have oil and gas to finance such an adventure.Also, the close proximity to India and China, the world's two most populous nations long on ravenous economies and short on ethics, love Burmese resources and enslaved population. As much as TV's experts like to bash Thais as ignorant, Thais will not tolerate the same oppression as the Burmese do. Thailand has been open for so long, that the only event capable of closing the borders is a Cambodian type genocide or a Vietnamese type revolution. If that ever happens, where would the sexpats of Pattaya go?

[Moruya]

This circus will never play itself out.

The red shirts are still not endorsed - this could play out 2 ways. PTP forms a government without them and drives a wedge between red shirts and PTP. The red shirts start to rally against the EC and hell breaks loose giving the army an excuse to step in.

The PTP party could still be in trouble over the use of Thaksin as its figurehead.

The one not to take your eye off is that the election could still be declared null and void as 2 milion people were unable to vote. This is a more serious issue than has been given credit in the press.

If the PTP manages to form a government it will be bound to deliver on the promises made and that road has mines all along it and even more if you go into policy reverse.

The effect of the policies will also be interesting. If there is work in the regions at 300B per day and the cost of living is cheaper then that could cause a reverse exodus of people back to their regions. If rice is being bought at 20,000B (2.5 times market price) as promised then who will buy it? Thais or other countries? Will the Thais have to pay the new price or will the government subsidise and have another load of money to pay out on top of the tablet PCs, 300B per day, 15,000B per month for graduates etc.

The best thing the Dems can do is to select a new leader with some real dog to act as opposition leader because there's a turkey shoot ahead.

The Cambodia situation could heat up very quickly - especially with a few well-aimed statements by the PAD and if the bullets start to fly before a government is in place then the army could again step into the vaccuum.

Interesting times ahead.

[whybother]

This circus will never play itself out.

The red shirts are still not endorsed - this could play out 2 ways. PTP forms a government without them and drives a wedge between red shirts and PTP. The red shirts start to rally against the EC and hell breaks loose giving the army an excuse to step in.

The PTP party could still be in trouble over the use of Thaksin as its figurehead.

The one not to take your eye off is that the election could still be declared null and void as 2 milion people were unable to vote. This is a more serious issue than has been given credit in the press.

If the PTP manages to form a government it will be bound to deliver on the promises made and that road has mines all along it and even more if you go into policy reverse.

The effect of the policies will also be interesting. If there is work in the regions at 300B per day and the cost of living is cheaper then that could cause a reverse exodus of people back to their regions. If rice is being bought at 20,000B (2.5 times market price) as promised then who will buy it? Thais or other countries? Will the Thais have to pay the new price or will the government subsidise and have another load of money to pay out on top of the tablet PCs, 300B per day, 15,000B per month for graduates etc.

The best thing the Dems can do is to select a new leader with some real dog to act as opposition leader because there's a turkey shoot ahead.

The Cambodia situation could heat up very quickly - especially with a few well-aimed statements by the PAD and if the bullets start to fly before a government is in place then the army could again step into the vaccuum.

Interesting times ahead.

Didn't the EC basically rule that the "Thaksin as figurehead" was a non-issue by endorsing Yingluck? Also, didn't the courts also dismiss the yellow shirt action to invalidate the election?

[timekeeper]

Maybe you'll be eating crow when your beloved hero has turned Thailand into the next Burma. Or maybe not. Would that make you happy?

Mr. Thaksin is not my beloved hero. There is no evidence to support that Thailand will become another Burma. Do you know why? Thailand doesn't have oil and gas to finance such an adventure.Also, the close proximity to India and China, the world's two most populous nations long on ravenous economies and short on ethics, love Burmese resources and enslaved population. As much as TV's experts like to bash Thais as ignorant, Thais will not tolerate the same oppression as the Burmese do. Thailand has been open for so long, that the only event capable of closing the borders is a Cambodian type genocide or a Vietnamese type revolution. If that ever happens, where would the sexpats of Pattaya go?

so you are saying that all those in Pattaya are sexpats?

[Thaddeus]

Maybe you'll be eating crow when your beloved hero has turned Thailand into the next Burma. Or maybe not. Would that make you happy?

Mr. Thaksin is not my beloved hero. There is no evidence to support that Thailand will become another Burma. Do you know why? Thailand doesn't have oil and gas to finance such an adventure.Also, the close proximity to India and China, the world's two most populous nations long on ravenous economies and short on ethics, love Burmese resources and enslaved population. As much as TV's experts like to bash Thais as ignorant, Thais will not tolerate the same oppression as the Burmese do. Thailand has been open for so long, that the only event capable of closing the borders is a Cambodian type genocide or a Vietnamese type revolution. If that ever happens, where would the sexpats of Pattaya go?

so you are saying that all those in Pattaya are sexpats?

And there aren't any anywhere else?

[Samuian]

Well, personally I assume that the endorsment of both old and new PM together is more an approach to prevent massiv uproad in either party... I would not want to imagine what would have happened if one of the two would have been endorsed and the other one not...

But what tragickingdom wrote is true: How can politicians be allowed to be elected by the voters and afterwards, dozends of them get under investigation to find out whether they should not have been on the poll list of their party...

Current EC needs to be be fired and a new one with new rules needs to be put in charge.

Is the investigation about being on the poll lists or not, or is the investigation about 1900 REPORTED "irregularities" at election time?

[Ricardo]

Thailand's Election Commission are just another bunch of useless bureaucrats. They should be eliminated as an unneeded expense.

Beg to disagree.

The E.C. are constantly pressured, with protests outside their offices & accusations of corruption or bias or whatever, yet still they keep trying to reduce or punish political-corruption such as vote-buying, whether by individual or party-executives, by issuing Red & Yellow-cards.

Those who actually want to see democracy in Thailand strengthened, might do better to support their efforts, rather than join the understandable attacks by those likely-to-be-accused.

Which isn't to say that running the election with out-of-date voter-lists or going off to Europe during the run-up to the last election, are signs of 100% competency, this is after all Thailand, so they need to strive also to improve their own operations.

[SIAMBULL]

Nonetheless we are celebrating this decision both in the avoidance of chaos which may have broken out otherwise and in our sincere hopes that Yingluck will try to do good for her country and people. This is called democracy and while flawed it is where we place our hopes for peace and progress in Thailand.

Good luck Yingluck. Siam needs you to rise to this occasion!

[Samuian]

Maybe you'll be eating crow when your beloved hero has turned Thailand into the next Burma. Or maybe not. Would that make you happy?

Mr. Thaksin is not my beloved hero. There is no evidence to support that Thailand will become another Burma. Do you know why? Thailand doesn't have oil and gas to finance such an adventure.Also, the close proximity to India and China, the world's two most populous nations long on ravenous economies and short on ethics, love Burmese resources and enslaved population. As much as TV's experts like to bash Thais as ignorant, Thais will not tolerate the same oppression as the Burmese do. Thailand has been open for so long, that the only event capable of closing the borders is a Cambodian type genocide or a Vietnamese type revolution. If that ever happens, where would the sexpats of Pattaya go?

But then you are very generously overlooking the fact that Thai asupposed to be "the free" and the fact that some are free'r, feudalistic structures are in place all over the country, people from the "lower walks" of life are treated likesecondary or 3rd class citizens, if this has passed your attention, maybe we live in two very different "Thailands" at least have a rather differing perception of certain realities!

The obedience of these "underdogs" is such, that, what ever the chief, the "Puu yai baan" says and wishes will be done, same, same at election time, few would dare to oppose the "chief's" wish!

And believe me pattaya and what ever attracts "sexpats" will survive anything, cause again it's in the interest of the very "upperclass" a huge money maker!

Forgot Chuvit and his background, paying, by his own account, millions of baht to the bib's, going for Bangkok Governours office and now running in the elections?

Edited July 20, 2011 by Samuian

[Moruya]

This circus will never play itself out.

The red shirts are still not endorsed - this could play out 2 ways. PTP forms a government without them and drives a wedge between red shirts and PTP. The red shirts start to rally against the EC and hell breaks loose giving the army an excuse to step in.

The PTP party could still be in trouble over the use of Thaksin as its figurehead.

The one not to take your eye off is that the election could still be declared null and void as 2 milion people were unable to vote. This is a more serious issue than has been given credit in the press.

If the PTP manages to form a government it will be bound to deliver on the promises made and that road has mines all along it and even more if you go into policy reverse.

The effect of the policies will also be interesting. If there is work in the regions at 300B per day and the cost of living is cheaper then that could cause a reverse exodus of people back to their regions. If rice is being bought at 20,000B (2.5 times market price) as promised then who will buy it? Thais or other countries? Will the Thais have to pay the new price or will the government subsidise and have another load of money to pay out on top of the tablet PCs, 300B per day, 15,000B per month for graduates etc.

The best thing the Dems can do is to select a new leader with some real dog to act as opposition leader because there's a turkey shoot ahead.

The Cambodia situation could heat up very quickly - especially with a few well-aimed statements by the PAD and if the bullets start to fly before a government is in place then the army could again step into the vaccuum.

Interesting times ahead.

Didn't the EC basically rule that the "Thaksin as figurehead" was a non-issue by endorsing Yingluck? Also, didn't the courts also dismiss the yellow shirt action to invalidate the election?

I don't believe so. The using of Thaklsin as a figurehead would be a party offense rather than that of an individual.

As to whether the election is to be declared invalid or not, that does not prevent a government being formed in the interim.

[Ricardo]

There is no evidence to support that Thailand will become another Burma. Do you know why? Thailand doesn't have oil and gas to finance such an adventure.

In fact Thailand has several onshore oil/gas fields, Fang & Mae-Sot spring to mind, and there is undoubtedly gas in the Gulf of Thailand, which is why Thaksin's deal on the demarcation-line with Cambodia is commercially-important. The CIA estimate (01/01/2010) proven-reserves at 430 million barrels of oil, with production (2008) at 0.31 mn bbl/day, for example.

Some might think that it makes sense to leave finite oil/gas-resources in-the-ground, as they're only likely to increase in value long-term, especially if global-production is near to peaking, and to continue to consume cheap Burmese gas first, I think it's used to generate a lot of Thailand's electricity ?

One might also use it to BBQ dead-crow with ?

Edited July 20, 2011 by Ricardo

[whybother]

I don't believe so. The using of Thaklsin as a figurehead would be a party offense rather than that of an individual.

As to whether the election is to be declared invalid or not, that does not prevent a government being formed in the interim.

the elections law did not prohibit the involvement of barred party executives in political activities. The ban was limited to holding office.

I always thought banned politicians weren't allowed to be involved, but it seems it doesn't matter.

The call to invalidate the election was a court action, not an EC action, so that shouldn't affect the government being formed. Given that the courts rejected the petition shouldn't affect anything now anyway.

[metisdead]

A post using all caps has been removed. There is no need to shout to make your point.

[timekeeper]

A post using all caps has been removed. There is no need to shout to make your point.

i was hoping shouting might bring the geriatric back to answer the allegation that he made that pattaya people are sexpats

obviously not......

Edited July 21, 2011 by timekeeper

[SIAMBULL]

I want a Yingluck tee shirt to wear in California!

[

[nurofiend]

congrats Yingluck, you go girl!