Thai Democrats resolve to boycott February 2 election

[LuukKoeyKorat]

They stand united! So far, pretty much everything, they have planned, has worked in their favor. I think, soon it will be "Bye, Bye Miss Yingluck" or Yingluck runs out of luck

I'm not so sure. So far Yingluck and PT have played an extremely smart game, by giving in to most opposition demands. curtailing the red shirt mobsters and basically gaining the moral high ground. However I'm convinced when push come to shove, the status quo on the streets will change and the current -caretaker- government and its supporters will not stand idly by and the whole business will descend into chaos and bloodshed :-(

[jpinx]

iirc in the very recent past Belgium went along quite happily for over a year with no government. Thailand could easily do the same and sort out the constitution in the meantime. No need to be continuously passing new laws - the old ones are just fine

[Showbags]

Is Santa still coming though ?

[ratcatcher]

well im going to thailand next july but i think there will be republic of nort thailand and kingdom of thailand?

Just a small adjustment to your dream.

The North and Northeast will become the Republic of Shina and the central and southern regions will remain the Kingdom of Thailand.

Just joking of course.

[Thailand]

They stand united! So far, pretty much everything, they have planned, has worked in their favor. I think, soon it will be "Bye, Bye Miss Yingluck" or Yingluck runs out of luck

I'm not so sure. So far Yingluck and PT have played an extremely smart game, by giving in to most opposition demands. curtailing the red shirt mobsters and basically gaining the moral high ground. However I'm convinced when push come to shove, the status quo on the streets will change and the current -caretaker- government and its supporters will not stand idly by and the whole business will descend into chaos and bloodshed :-(

Sadly I think you may be correct, "The reds" have been incredibly calm despite everything Suthep has done to inflame the situation, the action of the gutless Dems may well be the catalyst to chaos.

[tezzainoz]

haha so funny

they want an election - they get one - now they don't want one - they say they are "democrats' but don't believe in democracy

PTP and Thaksin must be thanking Buddha there is no sensible opposition and counter manifesto and an inept opposition. A real leader would have exposed the issues and rallied the people all Abhisit can do is say

"I'm not playing and taking my Ball home - so there!!!"

Edit: actually it's not funny at all poor Thailand

You have no idea how things work in Thailand

time for you to take your ball and go out idea and play

This just may be another master stroke for the Democrats

I play chess and ofter win by sacrificing my pawns

[dukebowling]

The general hate rally cry against Thaksin reminds me of another in history - Hitler and his rally for the country to hate the Jews. Point to a scapegoat for all the country's problems and create a mob. Hate is the heart of a mob's mentality. Truly sad.

I still can't find any solid evidence of what Thaksin did wrong. Can anyone tell me?

Let's throw in some historical names to make us look intelligent. Ooo Hitler! Ahh Musolini!

Well Thaksin reminds me off Mugabe and Marcos!

Thanks for addressing the question...

[marinediscoking]

Everyone rattles on here about the Democrats not upholding democracy and the law in Thailand. Do most people here believe Thailand is a democracy, and if so do the current government work in a democratic way? Its a Shinawatra dictatorship, who now have also bought some of the military. The ordinary people of Thailand deserve a better government who work for the people. Something needs to be done.

Who are you to talk about Shinawatra dictatorship maybe you do not known but they work for the people. Did you ever meet any Shinawatra's? Where do you get your ideas about them do you known anyone except me that has meet them?

Work for SOME of the people based on geography. Why do you think the rural poor in the south don't vote for him?

Harry, you sound like Sarah Palin who thought she was an expert on foreign policy because she could see Russia from her home :-)

If the Shinawatras are really working for the people, why does virtually every financial institution in the world urge them to stop the rice scam?

Monkeycountry, You do realize Sarah Palin never said that?

[MobileContent]

well im going to thailand next july but i think there will be republic of nort thailand and kingdom of thailand?

First post and a troll I guess. The North and Northeast love the king more then Thaksin and the Shinawatra's.

The Shinawatra's only have a better policy for the voters in this region which the democrats have left out for the past 50 years.

[soi41]

Everyone rattles on here about the Democrats not upholding democracy and the law in Thailand. Do most people here believe Thailand is a democracy, and if so do the current government work in a democratic way? Its a Shinawatra dictatorship, who now have also bought some of the military. The ordinary people of Thailand deserve a better government who work for the people. Something needs to be done.

Who are you to talk about Shinawatra dictatorship maybe you do not known but they work for the people. Did you ever meet any Shinawatra's? Where do you get your ideas about them do you known anyone except me that has meet them?

Work for SOME of the people based on geography. Why do you think the rural poor in the south don't vote for him?

Because the democrats pay better!!

[MobileContent]

I wonder why the Democrats ask for reforms but when they were in power with Abhisit and Comrade Suthep they have done nothing of changes to reform the government.

Now they ask for reforms but when they were in power they did nothing. I am sure some Democrat party members will defect to other parties in the next 2-3 weeks because they have a lot of people that are in for the money. Mostly will not defect to PTP but to CTP.

Let the democrats boycott the elections as it is no big deal as they any way will loose big time, including every district in the North and Northeast and they won several last time in 2011. CTP and BJ are the big winners including the small opposition parties currently.

[Emptyset]

Some people don't seem to understand why this is. It is NOT because Suthep wants to control anything else but the WAY elections are being held. During the Mr. "T" regime the constituents have been altered to fit the TRT party. Very large constituents with large numbers of voters would give one party only one seat (These they changed and were Democratic strongholds) much smaller constituents, with much fewer people were divided up in several constituents with one seat each. This means that even when people did not vote a 100% for the TRT they would still have a "glorious victory" over the Democrats.

In numbers: The TRT and Dems had respectively: 15,744,190 and 11,433,762 people vote for them. A difference in % of the population of resp. (TRT, Dems) 48.41% and 35.15%. (say 13%) This was NOT reflected in the seats in Parliament by the self dividing rule of the TRT who changed the constituents. (TRT/ Dems) 265 seats against 159 seats or in seats 106 (!!). If this had been in the range of anything like 225 to 196 this would have been a fair and acceptable result. (the difference being about 13%) or in seats 29. This would have allowed (just an example) the Democrats to team up with some other parties and still form a Government. Besides in the opposition it would have given them lots more control.

Then due to certain constituents differences it could have been anything in the range of 210 to 235 for the TRT and 190 to 220 for the Dems and it would be acceptable, justifiable and explainable.

NOW do we understand why Suthep wants a hand in the way the elections are set up?

Mind you, I do not agree with an interim Government and all that, unless it would be an agreed upon (by both parties) Business Government to boost the country back on the map first. But that would demand restraint, patience and understanding. Values that are the foundation of Buddhism, but are hard to be found in politricks.

Just my two cents worth....

That was worth far less than two cents, if I may say so. lol. You realize that the Democrats were in power last and changed the constitution - including the constituency changes you mention, from multi-seat to single-seat - in a way they thought would suit them, right? Suthep had his hand then, now he wants it back because minor tinkering with the constitution didn't work for him. He's realized the only thing that will work is disenfranchising the rural electorate.

[Sayonarax]

Yep, keep up the fine work of destroying your economy. You wont have to worry about selling ya rice stockpiles when all your investor and backers pull out, cause that's what you'll all be eating when it turns 1997 again.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Sayonarax

[Ianatlarge]

So, you cannot expect to win, so stay in your room, and demand that the rules be changed.

[Old Man River]

They stand united! So far, pretty much everything, they have planned, has worked in their favor. I think, soon it will be "Bye, Bye Miss Yingluck" or Yingluck runs out of luck

I'm not so sure. So far Yingluck and PT have played an extremely smart game, by giving in to most opposition demands. curtailing the red shirt mobsters and basically gaining the moral high ground. However I'm convinced when push come to shove, the status quo on the streets will change and the current -caretaker- government and its supporters will not stand idly by and the whole business will descend into chaos and bloodshed :-(

LKK, If they are so sure they will win the election, why would the RS result to violence?

[boomerangutang]

iirc in the very recent past Belgium went along quite happily for over a year with no government. Thailand could easily do the same and sort out the constitution in the meantime. No need to be continuously passing new laws - the old ones are just fine

You're assuming the Thais are somewhat reasonable people, who can iron out differences via discussions. That's a BIG assumption.

[Emptyset]

"Democrats resolve to boycott election"

Oh <deleted>, what is going on? The dems cannot be buying into suthep's fascist BS. What choice does the country now have? A criminal PT who will continue to drive the country into bankruptcy through greed and idiotic schemes or the nationalistic, fascist BS Suthep is pushing. The poisoned chalace or the hangman's noose. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

What they can do if they don't have the funds for vote buying?

To make a reform panel against corruption and vote buying isn't fascist....can't recall Hitler or Mussolini fought for clean Democracy....

No, but both claimed they alone had the vision to save their nation, they both claimed that the suspension of democracy was required in order to root out the evils of the current system, they both spouted nationalistic rhetoric about how others were betraying the nation. Suthep is a fascist who has no tolerance for any way or system that does not support his vision. He has hijacked a movement that legitimately protested the corruption and incompetence of PT. I completely accept the argument that the system in Thailand is flawed because their is no way of reigning in govts that blatantly manipulate the electoral process, ignore or subvert the law, enrich themselves at the expense of the country. Reform is required but suthep is not the man to bring it about. His solution is no better than the problem.

I agree with much of this. But I'm not sure any specific reform can really do the trick in the short term. The laws against corruption etc are there now. It's just that they can be subverted to a large degree by whichever side is in power. Thai democracy will improve as people learn more, through trial and error. And under democracy people are gradually becoming less subservient to their leaders. Reforms like decentralisation, steps to reduce inequality and improve citizen's general political knowledge will help too. And that means encouraging people to see things from different POVs and respect different opinions.

Start by teaching kids to read a wide range of sources and not just take things for granted because some authority figure says it's true. People want to blame Thaksin for everything, but who had control of the system for so many years before he came along? Who did nothing to improve people's political education and preferred them to stay ignorant and never question their wisdom? Yep. Pretty much the same people you're supporting now. Suthep's plan to educate people probably amounts to no more than banging on to them about how Thaksin is evil and promoting false nationalist ideas of unity. Well - they tried that in 2006 and people still voted for Thaksin's proxy party in 07*.

Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. More questioning and criticism is needed, especially people holding their own side to account. Problem with the anti-govt group and the reds is that though they question the authority of the other side, most of them don't seem to question their own. It always seems to be a case of 'my leader, right or wrong', so to speak.

That's one reason I think this movement is unfortunate. They were right to question the amnesty and protest against it. But many reds were also against the bill and were starting to question the wisdom and ethics of Thaksin. Of course, when the anti-govt protest leaders started to talk about overthrowing democracy and installing an elected council, the reds jumped straight back into the government's arms. Thaksin and PTP were much weaker a month ago than they are now imo. I'm just surprised at those who can't see this... only a coup or some sort of violent takeover or intervention from 'above' can get Suthep what he wants and none of those bodes well for the future.

*The days when you could send the army around the countryside, handing out propaganda leaflets that reinforce a simple black & white idea of who the villagers should think is good and who they should think is evil, well, those days are over. It might've worked to some extent during the communist insurgency, but it won't work anymore.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Emptyset

[Outlaws]

They boycott because they are cowards, they cannot win and they would be wiped out in an election, worse than last time, for them it is dictatorship or hide under the bed crying.

[Mosha]

Everyone rattles on here about the Democrats not upholding democracy and the law in Thailand. Do most people here believe Thailand is a democracy, and if so do the current government work in a democratic way? Its a Shinawatra dictatorship, who now have also bought some of the military. The ordinary people of Thailand deserve a better government who work for the people. Something needs to be done.

Who are you to talk about Shinawatra dictatorship maybe you do not known but they work for the people. Did you ever meet any Shinawatra's? Where do you get your ideas about them do you known anyone except me that has meet them?

Work for SOME of the people based on geography. Why do you think the rural poor in the south don't vote for him?

Because the democrats pay better!!

Wife's family all over the south and from poor stock. Never got a cetang to vote in a general election. Now Thaksin allowing Hat Yai to drown does make them think who cares,

[Siripon]

Why did Yingluck call an election? What is it supposed to solve?

Pheau Thai will answer-' Return the power to the people'.

What does that mean?

The public place a cross next to the candidate they like.

That's the end of the 'power of the people' for 4 more years if it's Pheua Thai

The politicians then go back to behaving like they do, pleasing their boss, no serious attempts to improve Thai society- reform the police, education, decentralise, etc.

So now Yingluck says, ' Yes, we will reform, we will improve Thai society after the election'.

Experience has taught everyone to not believe her, she's utterly beholden to her brother and she's not very bright.

On the other hand, the red shirts and Pheua Thai don't trust Suthep or the Democrats regarding their reform proposals.

So what's the way out?

Perhaps a national caretaker government composed of the 2 parties with a significant number of technocrats/ academics, outsiders recognized by both sides for their competence acting as ministers.

[punisher]

2006 all over again! Coup time!

Bye bye Shinawatras!

and welcome back in 2015

[Netizen]

The general hate rally cry against Thaksin reminds me of another in history - Hitler and his rally for the country to hate the Jews. Point to a scapegoat for all the country's problems and create a mob. Hate is the heart of a mob's mentality. Truly sad.

I still can't find any solid evidence of what Thaksin did wrong. Can anyone tell me?

I would commend you to invest in an education. The first step for you would be to learn how to search on the internet.

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia.

"...He was convicted by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions of abusing his power to help his wife buy public land at an auction, and was sentenced to two years in jail. Various criminal charges await him if he returns to Thailand..."

He also evaded tax by fraudulent share transactions for the sale of Shincorp to another bunch of politicians in Singapore.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Netizen

[jackrich]

Maybe it's time to dissolve this joke of a Democrat party.

They haven't won elections in 23 years and they won't win one anytime soon if they keep up this childish behavior.

Thailand has woken up. The times of a minority ruling a majority are over.

Let's not forget that only a few years ago, Abhisit and his Democrats were brought to power through a military coup.

Why did they not push through with the reforms then? Why did they NOT do it while in power for YEARS?

Edited December 21, 2013 by jackrich

[MrSlatersParrot]

Push has come to shove,

Thaksin via his puppets has played a power game since he first came onto the political scene. Self promotion of his position, his business interests and of course we are all well aware of the nepotism so beloved by the puppet master.

Now his bluff has been called and in reality Thaksin and his family and their brown nosing acolytes are in an electoral and political cul de sac.One way in and one way out. However to achieve an exit a U turn has to be made.

Now who will be in the driving seat when the U turn is made, Thaksin., Yingluck, a National Government as a result or the military?

This is now the final moments of the end game that Thaksin and his P.T.P. and coalition puppets have been playing for the last few years. Indeed the winnings that they are about to receive may well not be to their liking.

Who let the cork out of the bottle in 2010 with their sponsoring and support of the red Shirt movement ?

That particular matter along with the subsequent actions and results have indeed come back to haunt and even taunt Thaksin, the tactics he employed are being used against him now.

What does the future hold now we wonder?

Civil unrest, military coup election cancelled, the establishment of a National Governing Council, the exit of Thaksin and his clan from the political stage, the exit of the Democrats from the political stage or the prospect of the emergence of a despotic dictatorship?

This is it, this is the last chance for Thailand and its people to determine their future. its either a reformed and hopefully a far less corrupt future with cleaner politicians or the option of being crushed under the heel of a new political family dynasty focused on its own end and to hell with Thailand and its peoples.

In reality the problems are not so much a political matter but the conduct and the aims of one creature and his family.The problem being that Thailand and its peoples are the ante being laid in this game of political and personal aims game of chance.

utter nonsense!

2006 Failed coup

2008 Failed coup

2013-2014 failed coup

Dragging the name of Thaksin the bete noir simply shows the paucity of your argument.

fairyland to assume that corruption can be magicked away. More likely it will be red-lined and vanish under the table.

Abhisit and his cronies never had a problem with it when in power now did they?

[Mosha]

They boycott because they are cowards, they cannot win and they would be wiped out in an election, worse than last time, for them it is dictatorship or hide under the bed crying.

Worse than last time? I think not,

[Siripon]

Push has come to shove,

Thaksin via his puppets has played a power game since he first came onto the political scene. Self promotion of his position, his business interests and of course we are all well aware of the nepotism so beloved by the puppet master.

Now his bluff has been called and in reality Thaksin and his family and their brown nosing acolytes are in an electoral and political cul de sac.One way in and one way out. However to achieve an exit a U turn has to be made.

Now who will be in the driving seat when the U turn is made, Thaksin., Yingluck, a National Government as a result or the military?

This is now the final moments of the end game that Thaksin and his P.T.P. and coalition puppets have been playing for the last few years. Indeed the winnings that they are about to receive may well not be to their liking.

Who let the cork out of the bottle in 2010 with their sponsoring and support of the red Shirt movement ?

That particular matter along with the subsequent actions and results have indeed come back to haunt and even taunt Thaksin, the tactics he employed are being used against him now.

What does the future hold now we wonder?

Civil unrest, military coup election cancelled, the establishment of a National Governing Council, the exit of Thaksin and his clan from the political stage, the exit of the Democrats from the political stage or the prospect of the emergence of a despotic dictatorship?

This is it, this is the last chance for Thailand and its people to determine their future. its either a reformed and hopefully a far less corrupt future with cleaner politicians or the option of being crushed under the heel of a new political family dynasty focused on its own end and to hell with Thailand and its peoples.

In reality the problems are not so much a political matter but the conduct and the aims of one creature and his family.The problem being that Thailand and its peoples are the ante being laid in this game of political and personal aims game of chance.

utter nonsense!

2006 Failed coup

2008 Failed coup

2013-2014 failed coup

Dragging the name of Thaksin the bete noir simply shows the paucity of your argument.

fairyland to assume that corruption can be magicked away. More likely it will be red-lined and vanish under the table.

Abhisit and his cronies never had a problem with it when in power now did they?

What is this 'failed coup' three times?

Don't you know only the PM can say three times, ( thank you).

Mr Parrot, why don't the red shirts and Pheua Thai stand on their own feet and put forward their own ideas instead of being willing servants of the corrupt and authoritarian Thaksin- ' Thaksin thinks, Pheau Thai does'

Are they not allowed to have any ideas of their own, must they be so submissive?

[Mackie]

Abhisit and his cronies never had a problem with it when in power now did they?

I've never heard that they lost 12 billion USD on purpose just to stay popular in rural Thailand. However, I heard that during Abhisit's years some unruly hordes occupied the financial centre of Bangkok for months causing billions of USD loss to their own country and in the process tried to burn down the city. I've almost forgotten. As a result of their actions more than 100,000 Thais lost their jobs. Refer to Wikipedia. Get a grip, please.

[rreddin]

"unless their is political reform first" - by which of course they mean that the party, the majority will vote for, is crippled in such a way as to make it unelectable - sure that is democracy.

A country where the highly educated minority wield power over the majority - sure that is democracy

A(nother) country where the interests of big business outweigh the good of the majority - sure that is democracy

Instead of boycotting and protesting why don't the opposition mount a campaign to gain popularity in rural areas- it may take them longer to gain power but they will have done so legitimately instead of relying on an army to put them in power. Changing government through violence and disorder is just another manifestation of corruption.

the biggest point in political reforms is to stop the vote buying.....PTP every time again is doing a full scale vote buying, no campaign can do anything against that if you aren't super rich to pay more.

You have a short memory. It was only a few days ago that the Dems admitted to vote buying at the last election, and still they did not win. Vote buying is not restricted to one party. They all do it and will continue to do it because that is the Thai tradition.

[Prbkk]

Unanimous decision ? What a hoot! They are split right down the middle on this issue are will tear themselves, and each other, apart when it goes pear-shaped

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The Democratic Party has just lost any respect I had for them. They are just like little kids, if you don't play by my rules I'm going home. I sure don't like Thaksin, but now what choice do voters have? Sent from my i-mobile IQ X using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Perhaps it's because the Democrats, not being THAT dumb, can foresee that another election under the same circumstances as the past is likely to yield the same election results as the past, returning the PTP to power.

Thailand certainly could do a lot better in the way of fair and un-corrupted elections and voting. Whether Suthep and Co. are the ones who will accomplish that is, unfortunately, an entirely different matter.