Delay Thai poll, hold reform forum: top Justice man

[webfact]

POLITICS
Delay poll, hold reform forum: top Justice man
Jeerapong Prasertpolkrung,
Anapat Deechuay,
Khanittha Thepphajorn
The Nation

Push for later election gains momentum; EC and others opt out of meeting today

BANGKOK: -- A second top official has called for the election to be set back and a forum organised to focus on political reform. He also urged the government to review its role as a caretaker administration.

The permanent secretary of Justice Kittipong Kittayarak posted on Facebook yesterday that the February 2 election should be postponed for three to six months, and a forum set up for all stakeholders to discuss a ballot that would lead to national reform.

Meanwhile, many parties have refused to join a meeting today being organised by the government to discuss problems about the election.

The Election Commission (EC) said yesterday it would not join a meeting of all parties hosted by the government today on the election and suggested a meeting with the government should take place first.

"The government and the Election Commission are the two responsible agencies, so we need agreement between us first," Commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn said.

He noted that the EC offered a meeting with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra tomorrow.

The proposed meeting on Thursday would be arranged between Prime Minister Yingluck and five members of the Election Commission, he said. The EC had earlier proposed that the government to issue a new decree to have the election delayed from February 2 till May, as it faced many difficulties with the current date. The Office of the Auditor General told the EC previously the state would waste billions of baht if the poll failed.

If the commission could not reach common agreement on the election, it would appeal to the Constitutional Court to seek a ruling, Somchai said.

Prime Minister Yingluck said yesterday she would like to meet with the EC today together with other agencies and political parties in order to get more comprehensive ideas from all. "It's better to have all parties in the meeting. We cannot solve the problem with only one or two people."

There were two kinds of problems, she said, adding that the election management problem was how to get it done, plus there was a legal issue on whether it could be postponed.

However, EC secretary-general Puchong Nutrawong said yesterday he would represent the commission at the meeting today at the Air Force Headquarters to inform the government about difficulties arranging the poll on February 2.

The government has invited as many as 70 people from the Election Commission, political parties and political groups including the anti-government People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) to a meeting today to discuss the election after the EC suggested the Feb 2 poll should be postponed.

"As the Election Commission proposed the idea to delay the election, why don't they join the meeting to explain the plan," Deputy Premier Phongthep Thepkanjana said.

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjejiva, whose party boycotted the election, said the government and Election Commission should reach an agreement on the date of the election before discussing it with others. "It's useless for the prime minister to preside over a meeting of 70 people. The meeting would create more differences and conflict," he said.

"[Yingluck's] brother did all this in the past, issuing a new election decree, taking leave from the caretaker PM's post - you name it. But if the PM insists on what she told the UN secretary-general that she has no power, she doesn't have to invite anybody to discuss this, but let the EC decide."

PDRC spokesman Akanat Prom-phan said his group would not join the meeting today. "We have a clear stance to have an election after reforms."

-- The Nation 2014-01-15

[noitom]

Its a Thai circus.

[selftaopath]

Does is seem like NOW Y.S. wants rule of law? lol lol lol Oh perhaps in only specific matters/issues.

[jaidam]

Just make damn sure they have some sort of election or preferably a coup before Thaksin's amnesty reaches the end of its 180 day hibernation period and the PTP are able to enact it at the stroke of midnight, releasing 25,000 thieves, rapists, murderers and corrupt politicos from having any responsibility for their crimes and allowing them to seek compensation for having been charged.

Troubled democracy is better than uncontrolled anarchy caused by a nepotistic families lust for face,power, revenge and return of lawfully seized proceeds of corrupt activities.

[noikrit]

Reform BEFORE Elections .... What a novel Idea ....

[millwall_fan]

So the judiciary have joined Suthep's ranks. No surprise there at all.

[ramrod711]

"[Yingluck's] brother did all this in the past, issuing a new election decree, taking leave from the caretaker PM's post - you name it. But if the PM insists on what she told the UN secretary-general that she has no power, she doesn't have to invite anybody to discuss this, but let the EC decide."

Poor Yingluck, all she ever wanted was to hang out with her Hi-So friends and talk about her latest shopping trip. Now her Bangkok friends don't like her, she can't go south, and the only region of the country where she is welcome doesn't have hardly any good malls. " I want to quit she shrieked, nobody loves me". Not now dear said her brother, i'll let you know when.

[Tatsujin]

So the judiciary have joined Suthep's ranks. No surprise there at all.

Or perhaps they are simply insisting that the Govt (for once) actually follows the rule of law rather than ignoring it completely when it suits them.

[maxme]

"[Yingluck's] brother did all this in the past, issuing a new election decree, taking leave from the caretaker PM's post - you name it. But if the PM insists on what she told the UN secretary-general that she has no power, she doesn't have to invite anybody to discuss this, but let the EC decide."

Poor Yingluck, all she ever wanted was to hang out with her Hi-So friends and talk about her latest shopping trip. Now her Bangkok friends don't like her, she can't go south, and the only region of the country where she is welcome doesn't have hardly any good malls. " I want to quit she shrieked, nobody loves me". Not now dear said her brother, i'll let you know when.

What is this, year of the trolls?

[boomerangutang]

Maybe what he suggests contains a drop of wisdom, but as soon as I saw the word 'justice' describe the man, I had to take a step back. People in the top tiers of the Thai justice system have no corner on the wisdom dept. It was Thai justices that decided Thaksin was not hiding money away with his hired help. It was Thai justice that allowed Chalerm's son to get off the rap of shooting a policeman at point blank range with a dozen eyewitnesses. The list could go on and on - the length of my left arm. When Thai justices start making wise decision, then perhaps people like me will listen when they publish political opinions.

[tezzainoz]

"[Yingluck's] brother did all this in the past, issuing a new election decree, taking leave from the caretaker PM's post - you name it. But if the PM insists on what she told the UN secretary-general that she has no power, she doesn't have to invite anybody to discuss this, but let the EC decide."

Poor Yingluck, all she ever wanted was to hang out with her Hi-So friends and talk about her latest shopping trip. Now her Bangkok friends don't like her, she can't go south, and the only region of the country where she is welcome doesn't have hardly any good malls. " I want to quit she shrieked, nobody loves me". Not now dear said her brother, i'll let you know when.

What is this, year of the trolls?

Please tell me when telling the truth make you a troll

Maybe you should say a year to set things straight

[rametindallas]

Maybe what he suggests contains a drop of wisdom, but as soon as I saw the word 'justice' describe the man, I had to take a step back. People in the top tiers of the Thai justice system have no corner on the wisdom dept. It was Thai justices that decided Thaksin was not hiding money away with his hired help. It was Thai justice that allowed Chalerm's son to get off the rap of shooting a policeman at point blank range with a dozen eyewitnesses. The list could go on and on - the length of my left arm. When Thai justices start making wise decision, then perhaps people like me will listen when they publish political opinions.

I'm pretty sure that you will die of old age before that happens.

[icommunity]

Wow, a permanent secretary of Justice asked the government to do something which is unconstitutional - delaying the poll. Shame on him. He should be sacked. May be he should help the EC commissioners resolving the mess they created.

Why AV had to mention what Thaksin had done in the past? PM YS is different from him. Why should she follow the examples on what he did? BTW, what decree exactly did Thaksin issued to delay an election. Or a new election date?

The PTP led government should be careful not to fall into the trap of EC commissioners, DEM. They said one thing and they want the responsibility.

[Baerboxer]

Wow, a permanent secretary of Justice asked the government to do something which is unconstitutional - delaying the poll. Shame on him. He should be sacked. May be he should help the EC commissioners resolving the mess they created.

Why AV had to mention what Thaksin had done in the past? PM YS is different from him. Why should she follow the examples on what he did? BTW, what decree exactly did Thaksin issued to delay an election. Or a new election date?

The PTP led government should be careful not to fall into the trap of EC commissioners, DEM. They said one thing and they want the responsibility.

"Why AV had to mention what Thaksin had done in the past? PM YS is different from him." - You can't half tell'em

Thaksin says she's his clone, can speak and make decisions for him. She admits to speaking to him regularly, almost daily and breaks the law for him. They place various family members into as many key positions in the country as possible. Both have a complete disregard for the law, ethics, morals or anyone outside the family.

Please tell us, apart from age and gender. how she differs from the older sibling?

[tingtongteesood]

Wow, a permanent secretary of Justice asked the government to do something which is unconstitutional - delaying the poll. Shame on him. He should be sacked. May be he should help the EC commissioners resolving the mess they created.

Why AV had to mention what Thaksin had done in the past? PM YS is different from him. Why should she follow the examples on what he did? BTW, what decree exactly did Thaksin issued to delay an election. Or a new election date?

The PTP led government should be careful not to fall into the trap of EC commissioners, DEM. They said one thing and they want the responsibility.

You get red propaganda gold star of the day. What a load of utter drivel...

[JAG]

Another senior civil servant putting down a marker for a top post in The Dear Leader's Glorious Regime?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited January 15, 2014 by JAG

[Scamper]

Two very, very key quotes here :

" As the Election Commission proposed the idea to delay the election, why don't they join the meeting to explain the plan," Deputy Premier Phongthep Thepkanjana said. "

For someone so high up in the administration, this is stunning. The answer to his question is obvious. It is because the EC has the sole authority to render their recommendations. They don't have to explain it to anyone but the administration itself. That is why the EC exists. Of course, they've stated their recommendations repeatedly - in talks with the administration, and through the press. The result - Pheu Thai doesn't like the answer, and so they'll ignore it, or attempt to usurp the power of the EC by having them join a forum to " explain " their point of view, among other groups and opinions the administration appears to suggest all hold equal weight.

" [Yingluck's] brother did all this in the past, issuing a new election decree, taking leave from the caretaker PM's post - you name it. But if the PM insists on what she told the UN secretary-general that she has no power, she doesn't have to invite anybody to discuss this, but let the EC decide. "

​Precisely. Yingluck told the UN she has no power. But the obvious question is - who does ? Answer - the EC ! That's what their authority entails. But Thaksin - always at war with independent bodies - doesn't like their recommendations. And that sparks a constitutional crisis ( or rather, yet another one ). It means that the EC now has to take the step of appealing to the Constitutional Court, that would unquestionably affirm the EC's authority in these matters.

[Asiantravel]

The permanent secretary of Justice Kittipong Kittayarak..........

another would be member of the unelected people's council ?

[NCFC]

Two very, very key quotes here :

" As the Election Commission proposed the idea to delay the election, why don't they join the meeting to explain the plan," Deputy Premier Phongthep Thepkanjana said. "

For someone so high up in the administration, this is stunning. The answer to his question is obvious. It is because the EC has the sole authority to render their recommendations. They don't have to explain it to anyone but the administration itself. That is why the EC exists. Of course, they've stated their recommendations repeatedly - in talks with the administration, and through the press. The result - Pheu Thai doesn't like the answer, and so they'll ignore it, or attempt to usurp the power of the EC by having them join a forum to " explain " their point of view, among other groups and opinions the administration appears to suggest all hold equal weight.

" [Yingluck's] brother did all this in the past, issuing a new election decree, taking leave from the caretaker PM's post - you name it. But if the PM insists on what she told the UN secretary-general that she has no power, she doesn't have to invite anybody to discuss this, but let the EC decide. "

​Precisely. Yingluck told the UN she has no power. But the obvious question is - who does ? Answer - the EC ! That's what their authority entails. But Thaksin - always at war with independent bodies - doesn't like their recommendations. And that sparks a constitutional crisis ( or rather, yet another one ). It means that the EC now has to take the step of appealing to the Constitutional Court, that would unquestionably affirm the EC's authority in these matters.

As you quite rightly say the EC makes recommendations. So now they need to come to the meeting and explain the thinking behind their recommendations. Is that so difficult an ask ?

[robblok]

So the judiciary have joined Suthep's ranks. No surprise there at all.

Seems more and more are joining his rank, now I get why he will not bargain. He is winning.

But its only normal for the judiciary to join his ranks, so much corruption in the current government everyone knows now is the time to clean up Thailand. Its a chance as there never was one before. I might not like Suthep but if he brings meaningful change to the corruption laws you can only applaud him even if it costs your party its head. Maybe his own head too if it can be proven he done some bad things.

I would say win win when corruption has no statue of limitation, totally different from an amnesty that condones 25.000 corruption cases.

Just look at it logically.. what side would the judiciary be.. the side of law... or the side that says.. oh.. law.. just forget about these 25.000 corruption cases and bring our dear leader back.

Now that someone has stand up against the bully PTP more and more are not afraid to speak out.

Now the only worry is that Suthep becomes a dictator.. but we got the red shirts to counter that.. so why not wait and see if he really brings change or keeps the power for himself. I am pretty sure that many of the current protesters would turn against him in the blink of an eye if he tries that. I would even support the reds to get him out then.. but i love the idea of attacking corruption.

[maxme]

"[Yingluck's] brother did all this in the past, issuing a new election decree, taking leave from the caretaker PM's post - you name it. But if the PM insists on what she told the UN secretary-general that she has no power, she doesn't have to invite anybody to discuss this, but let the EC decide."

Poor Yingluck, all she ever wanted was to hang out with her Hi-So friends and talk about her latest shopping trip. Now her Bangkok friends don't like her, she can't go south, and the only region of the country where she is welcome doesn't have hardly any good malls. " I want to quit she shrieked, nobody loves me". Not now dear said her brother, i'll let you know when.

What is this, year of the trolls?

Please tell me when telling the truth make you a troll

Maybe you should say a year to set things straight

The truth huh, well the fact is that the EC didn´t want to abide by the law when tried to cancel the polls but that´s not the issue. It's one thing seeing Thai males post sexist remarks, quite understandable in this country where these folks don´t know what equality even means, but coming from TV posters is another. Childish and utterly distasteful drivel but then again I know why you support this kind of nonsens. Trolls feed trolls.

Edited January 26, 2014 by maxme

[MaiChai]

The red shirt supporters: take a look east at the country you will get if this government continues. Red shirt violence is a taste of things to come. Think about what you wish for.

[Skywalker69]

"[Yingluck's] brother did all this in the past, issuing a new election decree, taking leave from the caretaker PM's post - you name it. But if the PM insists on what she told the UN secretary-general that she has no power, she doesn't have to invite anybody to discuss this, but let the EC decide."

Poor Yingluck, all she ever wanted was to hang out with her Hi-So friends and talk about her latest shopping trip. Now her Bangkok friends don't like her, she can't go south, and the only region of the country where she is welcome doesn't have hardly any good malls. " I want to quit she shrieked, nobody loves me". Not now dear said her brother, i'll let you know when.

What is this, year of the trolls?

No, it's the year of red clowns.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Robby nz]

The truth huh, well the fact is that the EC didn´t want to abide by the law when tried to cancel the polls but that´s not the issue. It's one thing seeing Thai males post sexist remarks, quite understandable in this country where these folks don´t know what equality even means, but coming from TV posters is another. Childish and utterly distasteful drivel but then again I know why you support this kind of nonsens. Trolls feed trolls.

The truth ?

The EC never tried to cancel the pools, they have suggested that they be postponed and have given several reasons why and several ways within the constitution that this can be done.

Yingluck has insisted that they cant be postponed even though her brother managed to postpone an election before.

Now the constitution court has said they can be postponed within the constitution Yingluck (Thaksin) still insists they go ahead even though they can not result in a Govt being formed.

[englishoak]

“Every age that has historical status is governed by aristocracies.
Aristocracy with the meaning - the best are ruling.
Peoples do never govern themselves. That lunacy was concocted by liberalism. Behind its "people's sovereignty" the slyest cheaters are hiding, who don't want to be recognized.”
― Joseph Goebbels

[Siripon]

“Every age that has historical status is governed by aristocracies.

Aristocracy with the meaning - the best are ruling.

Peoples do never govern themselves. That lunacy was concocted by liberalism. Behind its "people's sovereignty" the slyest cheaters are hiding, who don't want to be recognized.”

― Joseph Goebbels

A nice reference to the Shinawat family Oak- just last week Yaowapa was busy handing out wads of money to the prospective Pheua Thai MPs, making sure they stay loyal, pay the village heads, canvassers and as some MPs said, even the farmers.

As Thaksin said himself and has demonstrated time and time again- 'democracy is not my goal'.

[blabth]

Again and again the same arguments. Yes Yingluck is clone of Thaksin. But people voted for her knowing that. At the time of the election nobody questions the result. The democrats did conceal the defeat. The constitution used at that time was made with strong influence of the military, the Abhisit government had ample time to modify and change the voting law, nothing done. During Abhisit time the Reds were not revolting even their votes from the Previous election were taken away by the military coup, closing of their parties, banning of their MP. They used democratic means to come back to power and did so by electing Yingluck. Now the so educated opposition wants topple the government with non democratic tools, without trying even the legal means, such as constitutional court, Ombudsman. The opposition has and had time to address the topics and make it public. Come up with alternatives and win the votes of the people. The situation shows clear that the opposition has never a program for the people which voted for Yingluck. The chances to win and get a majority in thE parliament are getting better and better every day with all the mistakes made by the government. What Khun Suthep and his gang is doing he will split the Thai society even more and for a much more longer time. I am sure the present demonstration have helped to open the eyes of many. Is time now to go down one gear and start to sit on a table with the Government and find a compromise. Take the offer of a delay of the election by 3to 6 month and fight for a democratic victory, but stop this nonsense now it hurts Thailand more than Yingluck did.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[Ricardo]

What is this, year of the trolls?

Personally, I think the idea of there being a Chinese 'Year of the Trolls' quite amusing. Good One !

[millwall_fan]

So the judiciary have joined Suthep's ranks. No surprise there at all.

Or perhaps they are simply insisting that the Govt (for once) actually follows the rule of law rather than ignoring it completely when it suits them.

The government are following the rule of law. Physically preventing people from exercising their lawful right to vote is against the rule of law and natural justice - and now the permanent sec of the Judicial dept - another lackey of the Ruling Elite, is on the anti-election bandwagon. There's going to be some pretty heavy pressure this week to 'postpone' the elections -as the horrendous pictures of Sunday of people being preventing form voting will be magnified 10-fold, 100-fold this Sunday.