Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra offers to cancel election

[whybother]

All that's needed to make yours a completely forgettable post is in your first sentence statement "the Thai people". Grab a flag, wear a pin, mouth patriotism, claim to represent 'the people'. it's a disease of the political right side of politics.

The rest unsupported conjecture on what had been until 90 days ago a vibrant and teflon economy. Fully operative and capable of managing it's challenges.

Thaksin is and was a brilliant and successful businessman. He improved the poor quality of life in Thailand. He might be able to pull the country back after the Dems/PDRC/NSPRT have had their throw at running it to ground. I don't see anyone else in Thailand with those capabilities standing for government.

Thaksin had a number of failed business ventures before he got a monopoly telecom licence from the government (his mate Chalerm I believe).

He also was lucky enough to be in power during a global economic boom. The same policies don't seem to be doing so well for his government at the moment while the global economy isn't doing so well.

[puanddavid]

having corrupt elections to vote in an extremely corrupt administration is not the answer no matter if they got 90% of the vote

This is where I get lost in the argument. In a democracy you just can't throw out the government because you don't like the results of an election. Did I understand you to say even if they have 90% of the vote?

Suthep wants to install a People's Council? What is that anyway? Don't they have one of those in North Korea? He wants it for an unspecified period of time, with unspecified objectives (removing the fairly elected PM, excluded). What is this, 1933?

Edited January 25, 2014 by puanddavid

[skorchio]

I wonder how much resolve pretty Yingluck has. At some stage she has to start questioning herself whether this is worth it. She is doing this for her brother, before she was PM she had a life, and depending on how this ends, she may really have no life, or a life in exile as well. I almost feel sorry for her because she did not know what she was in for, he convinced her to do it out of family loyalty bla bla, and backing out now is just not an option, but I can guarantee you she wants to. She didn't want to be stuck in a political shitfight, she like massages and botox.

[shiok]

The Shin can see it's all over and yet they are still scrabbling around trying different delaying tactics. I sense they need more time to organise their (!) belongings and pack their bags.

well said!

[Larry001]

Nowhereman60, on 25 Jan 2014 - 09:45, said:

‘‘It would be better if you do not go out because you will find we have taken over the polling stations,’’ Mr Suthep told voters.

Once again Suthep is trying to intimidate voters.

He is a thug; as simple as that. Somebody who is destroying the country and the lives of millions of people who are being denied income.

[Chicog]

"Thailands embattled government has offered to call off an election set for February 2 if protesters end their rallies and promise not to obstruct or boycott a new one within months."

Do they really think this is what the protestors want? How will this meet their demands for reform? Clueless.

Not clueless, just trying to hold on to power.....Reforms is the last the Shinawatras want....

I guess you want the reforms that suthep wants - dictatorship.

A people's council is a dictatorship? Suthep doesn't even want to be a part of the government, he just wants the corruption

out before the country is irreparably damaged. What's wrong with that?

I have a bridge for sale....

[belg]

next, she can announce there are no elections, no need to cancel, just let her sit out her 4 years ride...then she can go in excile join her brother in dubai, when shit start to hit the fan

[Carrerakiss]

Interesting. I'm surprised at this offer to say the least.

Had to be made though as to date, she has always said the election had to go ahead because it was a legal requirement. Now it seems it is not.

Not much of a risk though, as the protestors would never accept the condition of not protesting.

Just posturing really in order to maintain status quo.

[DGIE]

Yingluck offers to postpone the election? Wonder!

Maybe this time Suthep will challenge her for an election

[Emptyset]

"Thailands embattled government has offered to call off an election set for February 2 if protesters end their rallies and promise not to obstruct or boycott a new one within months."

Do they really think this is what the protestors want? How will this meet their demands for reform? Clueless.

The protesters don't know what they want other in terms of reform other than handing over power to an unelected council. Reform won't happen overnight. There's only so much that can be done in a year or 18 months. The government said they'd set up a council that would run parallel to the parliament to study reforms, then they'd put the reforms to a referendum and dissolve house. The protesters should join in the debate about the reform cancel to make sure their demands (whatever they are) are adequately represented, then they should hold the government to account as citizens and make sure the plans go ahead as promised. They should forget about reform before election.

[PeVee1st]

If YL had any common decency, she would wake up & smell the coffee and realise her days & those of her corrupt party are over. It is only TS & YL's greed which keeps PTP going. Why do not the voters ask where TS's 45% inc.in his personal wealth came from since PTP took goverment? Leave the sinking ship like all r--ts do and Thailand will be better off.

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[jaidam]

If YL had any common decency, she would wake up & smell the coffee and realise her days & those of her corrupt party are over. It is only TS & YL's greed which keeps PTP going. Why do not the voters ask where TS's 45% inc.in his personal wealth came from since PTP took goverment? Leave the sinking ship like all r--ts do and Thailand will be better off.

Sent from my GT-I8160 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

His boast was 450%, not 45%. The clan doesn't do things by halfs.

[ratcatcher]

Nowhereman60, on 25 Jan 2014 - 09:45, said:

‘‘It would be better if you do not go out because you will find we have taken over the polling stations,’’ Mr Suthep told voters.

Once again Suthep is trying to intimidate voters.

He is a thug; as simple as that. Somebody who is destroying the country and the lives of millions of people who are being denied income.

"He is a thug; "

Larry001, please be aware that Nowhereman60 has sole rights to the use of the word "thug" here on TVF.

Please try and be a little more original.

Perhaps, next time "ruffian, hoodlum, hooligan, vandal"?

[Emptyset]

"Thailands embattled government has offered to call off an election set for February 2 if protesters end their rallies and promise not to obstruct or boycott a new one within months."

Do they really think this is what the protestors want? How will this meet their demands for reform? Clueless.

What Suthep wants, is not what the country wants, kindly refer to the poll on this forum, that state 79% of Thai's polled plan to vote!

Finally, the elitist lapdogs on the Court realize they have no authority to make such a ruling on postponing an election under the constitution. And referred to the Army cancelling the 2006 election,in their decision that it had been done before! (very thin legal grounds)

It places the Government back in control of the situation, Yingluck offered reasonable conditions that all parties must agree to prior to such an agreement. If they refuse to agree on the reasonable offer.

Then is by there refusal, to end the protest, that the election was not postponed.

Ball back in your court, Suthep!

Classic!

How does calling an election without agreeing to discuss the protesters calls for change change anything? All this "offer" does is change the date, nothing else.

suthep's fascist council isn't the solution but the protesters feel there does need to be change and some sort of framework created to bring it about.

Changing the date won't do this.

As for polls, a poll gives the answers the pollsters want it to.

But they've invited the protesters to discuss several times but Suthep keeps insisting that there will be no negotiation... the door is still open. In making this offer, the government is asking to hear realistic counter-demands from the protest side, rather than the all or nothing council which is not going to happen. I see a window of opportunity to get the government to commit to genuine reform but the opportunity for this is actually diminishing the longer this goes on. People see the movement getting stronger. I'm not sure it is. Both the government and the protesters are operating in diminished space at the moment. Neither has much room to breathe.

Still I think the government holds most of the cards. The most likely scenario is still that the protest movement becomes weaker and weaker as time goes on and people lose enthusiasm for it. They'll likely lose support as they step up action to block the election. I wouldn't be surprised if there was violence. After numbers diminish, government is able to get parliamentary quorum and the Democrats will likely lose more votes in the next election they deem it worthy of them to contest. They'll have caused massive disruption for nothing and ordinary people affected by the protests will punish them for it. That's the way I see it heading.

Whereas now they still have chance to turn that around...

[tezzainoz]

Now wait for the details of the offer to become available.

Keypoints will be that the current government stays in power until a new one is elected, and that the new elections will be delayed for 2 months only, just in time to have a new government formed befor D-day 10 May. The day the amnesty bill returns to the lower house.

Talked to my Thai wife to day, and she say that she and many of her thai friend will quit the protest if the Prime minister agrees to put the elect on after march 10th

If Suthep decides to not agree 75% of the protestors will have returned home as this is not what the Thai people have agreed to

But if Yinluck Plays games and wants the election only put back a short time so that she can still get her brother a GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD, Then it means we all fight to the end, as once Yingluck gets back into parliment voted or not the devil will be released back onto thai soil, and we will never be free again

[tezzainoz]

"Thailands embattled government has offered to call off an election set for February 2 if protesters end their rallies and promise not to obstruct or boycott a new one within months."

Do they really think this is what the protestors want? How will this meet their demands for reform? Clueless.

Agreed. But to balance this out, could Suthep be any more arrogant when he says it would be better if you don't go out to the polling stations because the PCAD are taking them over. He clearly can't stand the idea of people making their own minds up. And some farang posters on here still praise him. He gets more fascistic by he day.

No argument from me there.

Was Brave Heart also not a Freedom Fighter

Until he was betrayed by his own kind

Yet in the west we have made him a hero in history

[Spalpeen]

"It would be better if you do not go out because you will find we have taken over the polling stations". No mention of this sinister threat in his whiney letter to Obama about how peaceful and pro-democratic his campaign is.

[tezzainoz]

All that's needed to make yours a completely forgettable post is in your first sentence statement "the Thai people". Grab a flag, wear a pin, mouth patriotism, claim to represent 'the people'. it's a disease of the political right side of politics.

The rest unsupported conjecture on what had been until 90 days ago a vibrant and teflon economy. Fully operative and capable of managing it's challenges.

Thaksin is and was a brilliant and successful businessman. He improved the poor quality of life in Thailand. He might be able to pull the country back after the Dems/PDRC/NSPRT have had their throw at running it to ground. I don't see anyone else in Thailand with those capabilities standing for government.

Why does a "brilliant and successful businessman" have to resort to rigged bids, monopoly, abuse of position, tax evasion, corruption and insider trading? Why does my dog lick his balls? Because he can.

Well noted your presumptions which are only that. And please show enough intelligence that you don't try to support them with the decisions of the coup installed Democrat party government and it's running dog the Judicial Court that 'convicted' Thaksin. Whatever the truth is about any of those accusations the thing known as xxxx, the military and the installed Democrat party tainted and robbed Thaksin and Thailand of any chance of a credible airing of the accusations.

Second, welcome to international Business 1A. Maybe you read the newspapers. It's a jungle out there. And questions of business propriety are settled with attorneys and in credible courts, not public opinion and hearsay.

My thai wife (even I love her ) holds a Masters degree from you so called top educated university

and my 6 year old daughter educated in Australia

catches her out on many things all the time

If you really have the money you send your kids overseas to be educated

[tezzainoz]

"Thailands embattled government has offered to call off an election set for February 2 if protesters end their rallies and promise not to obstruct or boycott a new one within months."

Do they really think this is what the protestors want? How will this meet their demands for reform? Clueless.

But which laws they want to "reform" ?

The 2006 Constitution was made by the military government which had outsed the Thaksin government.

The previous one, in 1992, was made after the massacre of the students and the return to the civilian rule with the Democratic Party in power.

All these laws and rules were made either by the Dems or by the army, not by Thaksin.

Laws are designed to be interprated

Money can change the meaning of any law

Murder is against the law even in Thailand, but money can change the fact to anything the payer wants

Time to read Thai history

[Bluespunk]

"Thailands embattled government has offered to call off an election set for February 2 if protesters end their rallies and promise not to obstruct or boycott a new one within months."

Do they really think this is what the protestors want? How will this meet their demands for reform? Clueless.

They dont want reform they want a dictatorship and that is not democracy where I come from.

As usual, wrong.

[tezzainoz]

"Thailands embattled government has offered to call off an election set for February 2 if protesters end their rallies and promise not to obstruct or boycott a new one within months."

Do they really think this is what the protestors want? How will this meet their demands for reform? Clueless.

They dont want reform they want a dictatorship and that is not democracy where I come from.

so where do you come from

England the USA and Australia

Non are true democratic, they are all told what to do by someone

Aust.

There will be no Carbon Tax under a Govt, I lead

next day after Election

I now feel there need to be a Carbon tax

You call this a democracy when a PM can lie her head of and she is not held responsible

[tezzainoz]

Government continues to crumble. They're just delaying the inevitable now - the Shins are going to have to go.

Ok the shins have to go. So what do you want to take over the sutheps???? These are murderers of 90 people and dont have time to go to court to plead NG. What a joke.

After all this is over my thai wife and many more what to see Suthep before the courts

But unlike you who is ready to be judge and jury

he has not been convicted of any crime as yet

Let them all face the justice system

No more if your in parliment the law can not touch you

But I guess you not want to hear this, stos you from becoming a Farang Hero in your own Lunchtime

[Thait Spot]

The Court's ruling gives the PTP and Yingluck the perfect political tool. They just declare that the next elections will occur whenever Suthep agrees to a date that he can guarantee peaceful voting. He won't, and the PTP / Yingluck remain in control of the Government for an indefinite time. And short of a violent overthrow of the Government, Suthep remains outside of the legislative process with no political power.

There are more holes in that than a second hand sieve!

The rice farmers will have either died of hunger or murdered the caretaker cabinet and the government will be the equivalent of a dead horse with all 4 legs chopped off

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[Thait Spot]

if you give in to the bully he will want more and more ,not a good move .nobody has the balls to take him on full frontal and put him behind bars

Do you?

Half a million baht on offer too

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[Thait Spot]

Nowhereman60, on 25 Jan 2014 - 09:45, said:

‘‘It would be better if you do not go out because you will find we have taken over the polling stations,’’ Mr Suthep told voters.

Once again Suthep is trying to intimidate voters.

He is a thug; as simple as that. Somebody who is destroying the country and the lives of millions of people who are being denied income.

What people?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[whybother]

She really does not have much of an option, the election at the moment looks likely to end in disaster.

She and her associates dont seem to have much of an idea what to about the current situation, but, on the other hand if Suthep and friends did get into a position of power albeit temporarily to "fix things" would that be any better option? Thai politics is in a sorry state, no wonder tourists dont come they would not know what to expect, they can only guess and the safe guess is to go somewhere else this year. Dont seem to be many Chinese around either. To the outside world Thailand seems to lurching from one crisis to another with no end in sight.

If Suthep and friends get into power, you can be certain that it will not bw temporary. Once they are in they will make dam_n sure that Pheu Thai, in whatever incarnation ( and you can take that as meaning the rural electorate North and East of Bangkok) will never have a say again.

Never??? IF Suthep happens to get into power, already there will be red shirts AND others on the streets. If he doesn't have a clear plan to be out of there within a few months, it will be civil war. If he stays around, he won't have support from any international countries (except NK maybe), investment and industry will grind to a halt and Thailand will head into the dark ages.

IF he happens to get into power, he won't be there for long.

[whybother]

"Thailands embattled government has offered to call off an election set for February 2 if protesters end their rallies and promise not to obstruct or boycott a new one within months."

Do they really think this is what the protestors want? How will this meet their demands for reform? Clueless.

But which laws they want to "reform" ?

The 2006 Constitution was made by the military government which had outsed the Thaksin government.

The previous one, in 1992, was made after the massacre of the students and the return to the civilian rule with the Democratic Party in power.

All these laws and rules were made either by the Dems or by the army, not by Thaksin.

Ummm ... I think you forgot the 1997 "peoples constitution". You know, the one that is nearly the same as the 2007 constitution (not 2006, unless you're talking about the 2006 interim constitution). Most of these laws were made by "the people".

[kennypowers]

So funny all these people saying the government is "over". Have you been to the protest site in Asok recently? There's more street sellers selling protest merchandise than protestors. Anyone who knows anything about politics, whether they like Yingluck or not, knows she has played this like a seasoned veteran.

[whybother]

She's clinging to power tighter than a grundlewig to a bear's ringpiece. With every passing day, and every murdered peaceful protester she is digging her hole deeper and deeper. Just how many deaths will it take for her to realize that this pro-corruption, pro-nepotism, anti-democratic rabble she is the mascot for is on its way out, the damage has been well and truly done and there is no possible way to recover her grip on power. She almost pulled it off but her amnesty and re-emburse Thaksin bill broke the camel's back.

She has every right to "cling" to power, just as Abhisit did.

But if she wants Thailand to get out of these cycles of protests, she should resign and get out of politics taking Thaksin with her. That doesn't mean that Suthep should be in power.

[whybother]

having corrupt elections to vote in an extremely corrupt administration is not the answer no matter if they got 90% of the vote

This is where I get lost in the argument. In a democracy you just can't throw out the government because you don't like the results of an election. Did I understand you to say even if they have 90% of the vote?

Suthep wants to install a People's Council? What is that anyway? Don't they have one of those in North Korea? He wants it for an unspecified period of time, with unspecified objectives (removing the fairly elected PM, excluded). What is this, 1933?

He has clearly specified the time.