PT threatens charge against EC

[Lite Beer]

PT threatens charge against EC

BANGKOK: -- Pheu Thai Party threatens to file a charge against the Election Commission, if the latter fails to complete the general election within March 4.

Prompong Nopparit, the party’s spokesman, said the EC is authorised to complete the election in the 28 problematic constituencies but it is passing the burden to the caretaker government and now to the Constitutional Court.

He said PT’s members could charge the EC of negligence.

-- The Nation 2014-02-23

[siampolee]

He said PT’s members could charge the EC of negligence.

The peoples voice is asking that PT’s members should be charged with negligence.

[moonao]

Its actually willful negligence by these scumbags. Hopefully there is some jail time for the EC.

[Melyn]

Fighting talk for sure.

The rice scheme has shown us that bullshit talks while the money walks and the government has demonstrated that those who shout loudest about democracy abuse it the most

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[TVGerry]

Do whatever hell you want, file whatever frivolous charges you can think off. Just make sure you keep a leash on your red shirted dogs and make sure they're not out there threatening the EC or lobbing grenades in their direction.

[Basil B]

The Election Commission have a role as defined by the constitution.

Because they are independent and do not do what this corrupt government wants, they are now trying to bully them into submission.

Time to install bullet proof glass before the messengers arrive.

Edited February 23, 2014 by Basil B

[Tywais]

Flame removed

[than]

It's sure EC delay, embarrass PT hidden agenda

[NongKhaiKid]

A party in government that ignores all court orders they don't like is going to the courts ?

[Dogmatix]

The EC has pretty solid legal grounds for its argument that it cannot re-open candidate registrations without a new Royal Decree from Section 7 of the organic electoral law:

Section 7 After the promulgation of the Royal Decree on a general election of

Members of the House of Representatives, the Election Commission shall publish in the

Government Gazette the particulars relating to the election as follows:

(1) the date of an application for candidacy in the election on a constituency basis

which shall commence not later than twenty days as from the date the Royal Decree coming

into force and the period of application shall not be less than five days;

There is no legal way to commence candidate registrations more than 20 days after the Royal Decree and they must be open for not less than 5 days. Time is rather running for PT to issue to issue a new Royal Decree and have the EC re-open registrations for 5 days, print up and deliver ballot papers and hold all elections within 30 days of the 2 Feb elections. After the 2006 elections were annulled due to wrong positioning of the poll boths, the EC commissioners were convicted of malfeasance and sentence to 1 day in jail each suspended. I bet the current commissioners are quaking in their boots about Prompong's threat of legal action.

60 days after the elections a new government must be formed and there is to be no provision in the Constitution that permits the caretaker government to stay in power. Tough luck Prompong.

[djjamie]

Might have to get the UDD muscle to do some intimidating directed at the EC. A good old fashioned kidnapping threat might suffice.

Or as they did in front of the civil courts today;

M79 grenade found in the parking lot of the Civic Court on Ratchada. No injuries (Pic @NuTKiM) pic.twitter.com/EMzmRic3wR #Bangkok or the explosion Richard Barrow ‏

5:05pm Sound of explosion at the Ratchaprasong rally site. First reports say 6-7 people injured.

After the "war drum" speech by a UDD party leader today that applauded the attack in Trat last night nothing would surprise me and it looks like the terrorist attacks are beginning.

No wonder fanatics gravitate towards the UDD.

Stay safe in Bangkok everyone.

Edited February 23, 2014 by djjamie

[ChrisY1]

I don't pretend to understand the rules and laws that the EC must abide by, and whether they're right or wrong.....but I don't that PT threats are at all worrying for them.

[Skywalker69]

The EC has pretty solid legal grounds for its argument that it cannot re-open candidate registrations without a new Royal Decree from Section 7 of the organic electoral law:

Section 7 After the promulgation of the Royal Decree on a general election of

Members of the House of Representatives, the Election Commission shall publish in the

Government Gazette the particulars relating to the election as follows:

(1) the date of an application for candidacy in the election on a constituency basis

which shall commence not later than twenty days as from the date the Royal Decree coming

into force and the period of application shall not be less than five days;

There is no legal way to commence candidate registrations more than 20 days after the Royal Decree and they must be open for not less than 5 days. Time is rather running for PT to issue to issue a new Royal Decree and have the EC re-open registrations for 5 days, print up and deliver ballot papers and hold all elections within 30 days of the 2 Feb elections. After the 2006 elections were annulled due to wrong positioning of the poll boths, the EC commissioners were convicted of malfeasance and sentence to 1 day in jail each suspended. I bet the current commissioners are quaking in their boots about Prompong's threat of legal action.

60 days after the elections a new government must be formed and there is to be no provision in the Constitution that permits the caretaker government to stay in power. Tough luck Prompong.

Tough luck Prompong.

[Prbkk]

Willful or inept...

[Scamper]

Pheu Thai has now descended into the pure ridiculous and fanciful. What are they going to do ? They are going to charge the EC with negligence unless they do the following :

Arrange national polls from one end of the country to the other within 9 days ! These will include the 28 constituencies in the South that don't have candidates. In other words, EC is to arrange registration for all candidates in these constituencies, allow them time to campaign, have advance elections and an election proper - all within 9 days. In addition, the EC is ordered to - on pain of prosecution - to have all 113 constituencies that either weren't open or only partially open on February 2 - open fully for both elections and advance elections - all in - you guessed it - in less than nine days.

Apart from being a study in madness, it also shows that Pheu Thai can't stick to a single strategy more than two days in succession. Just two days ago, Surapong ( though the media of course, as was this ) told the EC to complete all elections by March 30. Well, two days later, all that's out the window. The whole country is ordered by Pheu Thai to have a quorum in less than nine days.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I ask for your leniency and acquittal in dealing with my client, based upon the assumption of insanity.

Edited February 23, 2014 by Scamper

[Robby nz]

Willful or inept...

The PT Government and the caretaker government Both willful and inept, you can also add corrupt, bullying and a pack of crooks.

[Sunderland]

As the courts tie the noose around the necks of the PT party, it seems the number of bombings is rapidly increasing now. Running out of time to complete the elections and also time is ticking until the caretaker government's power - or lack of it - expires at the end of March. It will be a turbulent next few weeks for sure.

[icommunity]

Don't threaten, just do it - even if the judges are their grandfathers. No more negotiation, compromised - it is over.

Edited February 23, 2014 by icommunity

[LeamchabangLarry]

They might have a case if they could show where the 500 billion baht went

[ramrod711]

Prompong Nopparit, the party’s spokesman,

How very appropriate, the PTP, a party that is on the brink of being dissolved for criminal corruption, unconstitutional acts and lying to the people, are represented by a criminal who is on his way to jail. You couldn't make this up.

[ratcatcher]

They might have a case if they could show where the 500 billion baht went

And that I believe is at the heart of the matter.

An enormous amount of money is missing and unaccounted for and the PTP are afraid that any further examination of the books, if, of course, there are any left uncooked, will expose the true magnitude of their crimes.

This is what this desperate struggle is all about. Democracy and voting are secondary. The key is to keep the secret as to where the funds have gone.

Next week the PTP has promised to pay the farmers, those that were supposedly going to close the airport, and the finance master Kittirat has almost exhausted his repertoire of pleadings for loans from anywhere. It is downright embarrassing, but this is what Thailand has been reduced to at the moment.

The future month looks bleak as the powers that are in this struggle increase the rhetoric and threats.

Suthep is probing and baiting and Jatuporn and Nattawut are grandstanding equally as well.

Everyone is appalled by the deaths of innocent bystanders and protesters and police. What is about to come will make these seem like small events.............

[moonao]

weak effort

[Robby nz]

They might have a case if they could show where the 500 billion baht went

And that I believe is at the heart of the matter.

An enormous amount of money is missing and unaccounted for and the PTP are afraid that any further examination of the books, if, of course, there are any left uncooked, will expose the true magnitude of their crimes.

This is what this desperate struggle is all about. Democracy and voting are secondary. The key is to keep the secret as to where the funds have gone.

Next week the PTP has promised to pay the farmers, those that were supposedly going to close the airport, and the finance master Kittirat has almost exhausted his repertoire of pleadings for loans from anywhere. It is downright embarrassing, but this is what Thailand has been reduced to at the moment.

The future month looks bleak as the powers that are in this struggle increase the rhetoric and threats.

Suthep is probing and baiting and Jatuporn and Nattawut are grandstanding equally as well.

Everyone is appalled by the deaths of innocent bystanders and protesters and police. What is about to come will make these seem like small events.............

There is also the amnesty bill that Thaksin, the red leaders and the 25,000 who have corruption cases pending desperately need.

Then the 2.2 trillion that would make a great going away present.

[Mosha]

weak effort

Please yourself, but only an idiot will expect a vote in that time frame. And the result in the South will be the same.

[Mosha]

Election poster printers will be busy. last lot were in tatters within a day of being placed down here.

[Thait Spot]

Don't threaten, just do it - even if the judges are their grandfathers. No more negotiation, compromised - it is over.

PTP know they are wrong and are making empty threats. Just bluster. Hot air.

The goose is cooked

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[icommunity]

Don't threaten, just do it - even if the judges are their grandfathers. No more negotiation, compromised - it is over.

PTP know they are wrong and are making empty threats. Just bluster. Hot air.

The goose is cooked

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Hahaha, afraid already? I encourage the PTP to "Don't threaten, just do it - even if the judges are their grandfathers. No more negotiation, compromised - it is over."

[BlueNoseCodger]

The EC has pretty solid legal grounds for its argument that it cannot re-open candidate registrations without a new Royal Decree from Section 7 of the organic electoral law:

Section 7 After the promulgation of the Royal Decree on a general election of

Members of the House of Representatives, the Election Commission shall publish in the

Government Gazette the particulars relating to the election as follows:

(1) the date of an application for candidacy in the election on a constituency basis

which shall commence not later than twenty days as from the date the Royal Decree coming

into force and the period of application shall not be less than five days;

There is no legal way to commence candidate registrations more than 20 days after the Royal Decree and they must be open for not less than 5 days. Time is rather running for PT to issue to issue a new Royal Decree and have the EC re-open registrations for 5 days, print up and deliver ballot papers and hold all elections within 30 days of the 2 Feb elections. After the 2006 elections were annulled due to wrong positioning of the poll boths, the EC commissioners were convicted of malfeasance and sentence to 1 day in jail each suspended. I bet the current commissioners are quaking in their boots about Prompong's threat of legal action.

60 days after the elections a new government must be formed and there is to be no provision in the Constitution that permits the caretaker government to stay in power. Tough luck Prompong.

The Thai Constitution trumps organic law:

Section 108. The King has the prerogative to dissolve the House of Representatives for a new election of members of the House.

The dissolution of the House of Representatives shall be made in the form of a Royal Decree in which the day for a new general election must be fixed for not less than forty-five days but not more than sixty days as from the day the House of Representatives has been dissolved and such election day must be the same throughout the Kingdom.

The dissolution of the House of Representatives may be made only once under the same circumstance.

So they can't dissolve Parliament again, the constitution prevents it, and the constitution trumps the organic law, so in any clash between them, organic law loses!

Plus the original date is still in force if the original election decree is still in force! So even getting a second decree doesn't move the date forward.

i.e.

(1) the date of an application for candidacy in the election on a

constituency basis which shall commence not later than twenty days as from the date

the Royal Decree coming into force and the period of application shall not be less

than five days;

Not

(1) the date of an application for candidacy in the election on a

constituency basis which shall commence not later than twenty days as from the date

the lastest Royal Decree coming into force and the period of application shall not be less

than five days;

So claiming that getting a section dissolution decree somehow fixes this problem in organic law is not true anyway.

Ask youself who broke the law?

It was the Electoral Commission who failed to have candidate registrations within 20 days, and then refused to extend the registration process from the minimum 5 days, refused offers of help to clear the protestors, and refused to move registrations to a more secure site.

They've been very blatant about it all the way through, and it doesn't instill confidence in elections when they behave like that. So EC broke this law, but the law doesn't trump their duty under 236/6 of the Constitution anyway!

Section 236. The Election Commission shall have the following powers and duties:

(6) to order a new election or a new voting at a referendum to be held in any or all polling stations when there occurs convincing evidence that the election or the voting at a referendum in that or those polling stations has not proceeded in an honest and fair manner;

Section 236 says they have the duty to order new elections where polling stations had problems. An election does naturally include candidate registrations. So the power is there, they don't need a second dissolution resolution, and can't legally have one anyway.

Finger pointing is all well and good, but how to move forward?

Senate needs to choose new commissioners, to restore people's faith in the Electoral Commission.

Elections need to be held in these districts, as per 236/6 of the constitution. If the opposition then want to challenge the registration under Section 7, Constitutional Court can then rule whether organic law trumps their duty under 236/6 of the Constitution. (It doesn't).

Thailand gets back to boring democracy and Bluesky get back to their mindless droning again.

[Mosha]

Don't threaten, just do it - even if the judges are their grandfathers. No more negotiation, compromised - it is over.

PTP know they are wrong and are making empty threats. Just bluster. Hot air.

The goose is cooked

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Hahaha, afraid already? I encourage the PTP to "Don't threaten, just do it - even if the judges are their grandfathers. No more negotiation, compromised - it is over."

Might need to "persuade" a few judges 1st, just send out a list of addresses.

[icommunity]

Don't threaten, just do it - even if the judges are their grandfathers. No more negotiation, compromised - it is over.

PTP know they are wrong and are making empty threats. Just bluster. Hot air.

The goose is cooked

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Hahaha, afraid already? I encourage the PTP to "Don't threaten, just do it - even if the judges are their grandfathers. No more negotiation, compromised - it is over."

Might need to "persuade" a few judges 1st, just send out a list of addresses.

No need. Just do it.