Thai opposition weighs poll boycott in crunch weekend

[webfact]

Thai opposition weighs poll boycott in crunch weekend

BANGKOK, December 21, 2013 (AFP) - Thailand's opposition is meeting Saturday to mull a possible boycott of snap elections in a crunch weekend for the crisis-gripped kingdom as protesters prepare to ramp up rallies aimed at toppling the government.

The country's opposition Democrat Party, whose MPs resigned en masse to join demonstrations that have rocked the capital for weeks, is set to hold talks on whether to participate in February 2 polls called by embattled premier Yingluck Shinawatra.

Bangkok has seen weeks of street marches, with demonstrators invading government buildings and gathering in their thousands in the latest eruption of political unrest in the turbulent nation.

The protests are calling for democracy to be suspended and want to rid the country of Yingluck and the influence of her brother Thaksin -- an ousted billionaire ex-premier who is despised by a coalition of the southern Thai poor, Bangkok middle classes and elite.

Analysts say the elections pose a grave dilemma for the Democrats -- Thailand's oldest party, who have not won an elected majority in more than two decades.

The party will begin meeting in the afternoon on Saturday, said Democrat spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, adding that a conclusion may not be forthcoming for several days.

"I do not know what the party's members are thinking," he said of the meeting.

If the Democrats choose to boycott the poll, they risk being excluded from the political process, while a decision to join will dismay protesters who have vowed to disrupt the vote.

A Democrat boycott in 2006 helped create the political uncertainty which heralded the military coup that ousted Thaksin.

The new election rules meant the party "would be doomed to the wilderness if they boycott and Peau Thai (ruling party) picks up the pro-Democrat constituencies," said Paul Chambers director of research at the Institute of South East Asian Affairs at Chiang Mai University.

The meeting comes a day ahead of a planned major rally by the protesters, who are led by his firebrand former Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban.

Experts say the protests are supported by powerful behind-the-scenes forces, in a country where the royalist army and establishment have acted as power brokers in the country, which has seen nearly 20 successful or attempted coups in the last 80 years.

Observers say the army is unlikely to intervene directly this time, but other establishment forces could yet scupper the poll.

Suthep, who has given caustic nightly speeches against the Shinawatras, has dismissed the election, saying it will install another Thaksin-aligned government and appealed for army support.

Earlier rallies have drawn at least 150,000 supporters at their peak to the streets, in some of the largest demonstrations for years in the politically-divided kingdom.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-12-21

[soi41]

So the Thai brownshirts need more time to scan the voters, to se who is intelligent enough to vote?

Why not make it easy, and just go by skin-color??

[spare5]

So the Thai brownshirts need more time to scan the voters, to se who is intelligent enough to vote?

Why not make it easy, and just go by skin-color??

No way. Suthep is almost as black as Nelson Mandela.

[chainarong]

Abhisit and the Democrats need to get their act together , they do a dis-service to Thailand if they boycott the elections, the PTP will ride rough shod over the country and will pretty much do as they wish, this will lead to resentment , the people back on the streets and this time the military will take the centre stage, its your choice fella's but the future of Thailand is in your hands, handle this choice with care, you should be now running a strong election campaign, the ammunition is their, but is the heart.

[Robby nz]

The Dems biggest problem is that they are full of independent thinkers who owe no allegiance to any one person as do the PT who are only in their positions because of the man in Dubai.

This has been shown numerous times by MP's and cabinet ministers flying off to meet with him in various parts of the world, by the threat some time back to withdraw 'allowances' when not enough MP's turned up to make a quorum.

This confounds those who tell us that the Dems are only puppets of the military, the BKK elite or whoever.

If this were the case that they had a puppet master then they would be told what to do.

That said, if they want to be a party then all the members must be prepared to follow the party line and not form breakaway groups like the Surat Thani and BKK MP's who are saying they will not stand should an election go ahead on Jan 2, regardless of the party position.

Personally I think they should be prepared to take part in an election with all present MP's standing. That excludes Suthep for he is no longer an MP of party member.

That should be with a proviso that they do not believe that an election should take place on Feb 2 instead it should be postponed until reforms are put in place.

They should also state clearly their position on this with reasons and details of what reforms they believe should be implemented and why.

However if they do agree to take part in AN election PT will immediately take that that as an agreement that they accept that an election should be held on Feb 2 before any reforms are looked at.

[Nibbles48]

The Dems should definitely boycott the elections.

The only thing that is keeping them not sure what to do, is the commentary coming from their own supporters who think that PTP are at their weakest at the moment and that the Dems should take a shot.

However, if they get it wrong and lose, even marginally, they will be caught between a political 'rock and a hard place'. They would find it almost impossible to reject the outcome or support any of those (PDRC) who would be likely to reject it.

Going for the election without any reform first is a huge gamble. They know Thaksin in the north will do everything in his power to rig the voting whether it is vote buying, more populist policies or ballot boxes going missing. PTP popularity has nothing to do with the outcome. That will be pre-determined via corrupt elections.

I say play a safe game, boycott them, keep an eye on any new populist policies and shoot them down from the sidelines using dialog. Just wait it out. The rice scam is on the verge of total collapse as are all their other policies of the last election. Let the PTP stroll in via a one sided election. Then let the protesters reject it. It will happen anyway if these elections do go ahead. But I have a feeling if they boycott, they can't go ahead.

Stick to 'reform before elections' It is the best all round medicine to cure the country of its Thaksin inspired division.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Nibbles48

[spare5]

Reform?

Like the frequent coup,how many Thai has Thai politics reformed already.

Like a coup, they always say the next coup is the coup that end all coup; ie. the next reform will be THE reform that solve all corruption problem once and for all.

Have we not heard that before?

The final push. The final final push. The final final final push. V day, D day, Z day, day of Rage, ... endless.

[Siripon]

I think they will boycott the election, otherwise they will be split in half with the protesters refusing to vote.

More than that, if the poll goes ahead, I think there might be some concerted action, ie each Democrat voter votes no or tears up his or her ballot paper. 11 million voters to be prosecuted for breaking the election law!

I see Jaturon Chaisaeng of Pheua Thai said he doesn't want to run if the Democrats boycott the election.