Thai Constitutional Court voids February election

[Thai at Heart]

The 6 judges are idiots.

a referendum. The provision in question has no ambiguity, and so is not open to interpretation. This would be beyond the powers of the court.

Correction.

The 6 judges are biased idiots

BANGKOK: -- Independent law academic Verapat Pariyawong said the Constitutional Court had overruled the constitution as the Charter allowed for elections to be staged at a later date if all the House seats were not occupied.

Indeed. The question is very simple. What to do, if 95% of the seats aren't filled.

Throw out all the votes and start again, or count the votes and see how many you have achieved? Well, I don't see why you shouldn't count the votes that have been cast. That would be to disenfranchise people if they have voted.

a. So, firstly count the votes.

b. If you reach 95% of all constituencies you have a government, if you don't, what to do?

Well this is the kicker. If they have only 95% because of deaths, yellow cards and red cards, what do they do? HOLD BY ELECTIONS until they get to 100%

What would they do if they had 95% and 2 MPs died on the first day of the new parliament? Would they cancel all the votes and hold and election, of course not. Is it really the case that if in the life of the government there isn't a sitting quorum of 95%, the parliament ceases. Now this has been confirmed, I would suggest that the PTP MP's all start wearing bullet proof vests, because basically you can spark a general electoin by having a mass death or resignation of parties NOT IN THE COALITION. This is clearly a democratic nonsense. If the Democrats had resigned en masse, that would mean there wouldn't be a quorum of 95% so there has to be an election? Absolute nonsense.

So this situation completely causes massive confusion about what would they do, if through disqalifications and the such, there cease to be 95% of all MP's sitting. Just imagine if a plane fell out of the sky with 20 MPs on it. Would that spark a general election? I doubt if very very much.

So what should they do?

a. Count the votes and announce the results, however many seats are sitting, announce it.

b. Hold by elections until they get to 95%.

c. At 95% get together and elect the PM

d. Hold more by elections until it gets to 100%

e. Then get busy modifying the constitution so that you don't need 95% of sitting MP's to form a parliament.

[peterquixote]

ok, there would be the next one, with the same effect - reds will win the majority, democrats will be losing support (that even if they contest an election).

dems wanted a new parliament, PM dissolved the house, dems boycotted the election. The reds won, election invalidated by yellow's palls from the court, dems call for boycott of the next poll.

the country is going down the drain, not the government, but courts, agencies and fascist mob on the streets running amok, destroying what is left from the reasonable economic, political and social stability.

Oh dear londonthai thinks Thailand had " reasonable economic and political and social stability" Oh dear the people who want rid of the Shin fascists are fascists themselves he says ,oh dear

[rubl]

Yes we blame suthep and for pretty bleeding obvious reasons. Your support for suthep beggars belief at times.

Has it not occurred to you that the government wasn't breaking the law by holding an election. sutheps orders to his minions to blockade the polling stations, capture ballot boxes and physically intimidate voters most certainly was, and now you blame the government?

You deserve suthep.

But we don't deserve Thaksin directing a government unconstitutionally.

Contest an election then.

That's a novel idea, dear fabs. Contest an election. Why didn't I think of that, contest an election with a party which is directed by a criminal fugitive abroad and a government controlling the elections having said political party as 80% majority partner with 20% just in for show and money.

The ruling must have hurt with the hundreds of posts here a clear sign. Wait for the NACC decisions, more to come out of the woodworks then. Mind you I'm sure Ms. Yingluck will say "to respect the ruling and to want to do all possible for Thailand and therefor she has to continue". Teary eyed of course, that's better towards her 'electorate' and foreigners love it.

[Thai at Heart]

Ok. There will be a new election.

And now that Suthep has shown that he can disrupt an election and prevent Thailand from having an elected legally constituted government, are we going to have a repeat for the next election?

There has to be a new election, That's what the CC ruling means.

Now its up to Suthep and the Democrats to respect that ruling and to allow the election to proceed. The EC has enough advance warning to get itself organized and to do its job. Hopefully, this time, the people who attempt to sabotage the election will be arrested and charged immediately.

The military has to decide what it will do.

End result: I predict another PTP election victory and the rout of the Democrat party.

Unfortunately he already made his position more than clear last night

Prior to the Constitutional Court ruling, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who was a deputy prime minister under the previous Democrat-led government, told his supporters in a speech on Thursday there would be no compromise.

"If the court rules the election void, don't even dream that there will be another election. If a new election date is declared, then we'll take care of every province and the election won't be successful again," he said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/21/uk-thailand-protest-idUKBREA2K05420140321

And I would say, that his second statement is purely and simply subverting the constitution and he must be arrested and quietend.

[TPI]

Would be interesting to know what grounds for voiding the elections.

.

Contempt for the democratic wishes of the Thai people.

20mln citisens voted in this election. The court invalidated their political choice. The court is in the pockets of the ruling class

Of course! so what?

[smutcakes]

I am to lazy to read all the replies, so all i will say is that:

this sets a horrible precedent for the future whoever you support.

Am i right in believing that voting in any province in the last 70 odd years has never been delayed past election date?

[Fookhaht]

I watched tens of thousands of university students inconvenience themselves, many traveling hundreds of kilometers and taking up to a full day's travel each way, so that they could have their vote heard. The courts make a mockery of their efforts. No wonder that many of them end up so cynical about politics the ability of government to do its job. The court has just shot themselves (as part of the government) in their other foot.

Tens of thousands....were they marching by your house?....

No, they were missing in our Monday classes from our 50,000-student-body university after the Sunday election--a regular phenomenon at every election because of the many students who travel up to 300 kilometers on country roads and cow paths to get to their rural villages.

Notice how every forum has at least one numbskull naysayer who thinks it's his God-given mission to prove everyone else a liar? Respectfully, get a life.

Missing from Monday classes. Far be it from anyone to think that students would take advantage of an election to skip classes by saying they had to travel 300 kilometers on country roads and cow paths to get to their villages. I expect some of them actually did travel to their villages but 20,000 or more?

Probably more. But a cynic of your ilk wouldn't be convinced by the angel Gabriel. You need to get out of central Bangkok to see how the rest of Thailand operates.

[billd766]

When the institutions of the state set themselves against the will of the people, there's only ever going to be one outcome. History shows that pitchforks beat bayonets every time.

The election was not reflective of the will of the people and is therefore undemocratic. While this was the Democrat's fault for boycotting it, it is not the fault of the people and they should not have their will silenced just because the only major opposition party is full of crybabies.

And YOU know this how?

What is the will of ALL of the Thai people, not just the PTP, its own amyata (the Shinawatras), the UDD, the Red Shirts but ALL of the Thai people.

Have you interviewed a cross selection of Thais from ALL areas of Thailand from ALL political parties or are you just spouting what you and a few other people think?

I have not seen Abhisit crying nor any other Democrat come to that. Suthep did once but he had resigned from the Democrats long before that.

On the other hand Yingluck can turn tears on and off on cue.

[bigbamboo]

When the institutions of the state set themselves against the will of the people, there's only ever going to be one outcome. History shows that pitchforks beat bayonets every time.

Talk us through how the Pol Pot regime was overthrown. Is that recent enough for you?

.

Perfect example of what the old elite are risking here. An election every four years is like the release valve on a pressure cooker. It allows the general public to have their say. If they persist in obstructing democracy it's like welding the pressure release valve shut. Do that for long enough and the peoples frustration will find another release. Some 20 million people......yes, 20,000,000........are believed to have voted on Feb 2nd. How happy do you think they are today?

The Khmer Rouge event was an extreme example of peasants rebelling against an old royalist elite. It should serve as a cautionary tale for all those currently trying to suppress democracy in Thailand.

.

Wiser now?

Around 14 million or 35 per cent of the electorate cast valid votes. A further 6 million were spoiled or no votes and 21 million didn't vote at all.

Not sure how many of the 35 per cent actually voted for Pheu Thai.

Edited March 21, 2014 by bigbamboo

[smutcakes]

When the institutions of the state set themselves against the will of the people, there's only ever going to be one outcome. History shows that pitchforks beat bayonets every time.

The election was not reflective of the will of the people and is therefore undemocratic. While this was the Democrat's fault for boycotting it, it is not the fault of the people and they should not have their will silenced just because the only major opposition party is full of crybabies.

And YOU know this how?

What is the will of ALL of the Thai people, not just the PTP, its own amyata (the Shinawatras), the UDD, the Red Shirts but ALL of the Thai people.

Have you interviewed a cross selection of Thais from ALL areas of Thailand from ALL political parties or are you just spouting what you and a few other people think?

I have not seen Abhisit crying nor any other Democrat come to that. Suthep did once but he had resigned from the Democrats long before that.

On the other hand Yingluck can turn tears on and off on cue.

As far as i am aware the only real gauge of what opinion is, is via a general election.

If you really believe should the Dems get back in that Suthep or his God son are not involved then you need treatment.

[Crushdepth]

There's no mention of when a fresh new election will be held. This court obviously wants to deliberately create a power vacuum. These right-wing machinations are now so brazen and transparent it is a national embarrassment.

People who know they are going to lose, cheat, usually by making up the rules as they go along. It's corruption on a cosmic scale, and this form of corruption is now the primary means which the right-wing/royalist/yellow side uses to gain power without an electoral mandate. They've done it before so of course they will try it again.

Given that the two sides seem to be of roughly equal power (at least while the army is keeping out of it), I can only see two solutions: one is the miraculous appearance of a non-aligned, capable, charismatic (and liberal) leader who can set up a new party on a new set of principles - an opportunity there for somebody.

The other is to accept this nonsense with forbearance until a simple and inevitable stroke of force majeure changes the political landscape radically.

Judicial conspiracy theories are not necessary. The EC publicly warned the government ad nauseum that it was not possible to conduct an election under the circumstances, and the government disregarded the EC's advice. The court is merely interpreting the law, what else would you have them do? It's up to the government and the EC to work out a new election date - but not before the government does some (I would imagine, rather ugly) politicking to make the poll possible.

.

Once an election has been called it is an absolute requirement of the constitution that it be held within six weeks of the house dissolution. The only role of the EC is to then organise the election. What on earth ever gave you the idea that the EC has the authority to warn the government of Thailand that it should break its obligations under the constitution?

Also, who told you that " it's up to the government and the EC to work out a new election date"? Only governments have the authority to call elections. I thought everyone knew that.

The EC has an OBLIGATION to warn the government if it believes the election is unfeasible it can't carry out its duties, it's standard duty of care. They would have been negligent if they didn't, and as it turns out they were right.

Since the political environment hasn't improved, the government unilaterally calling another election will have the same result, ie. failure. Obviously they need to consult the EC on how to create an environment in which a poll can successfully be held and obviously that is going to include some discussion of the date.

Any more questions?

.

No questions at all. The one......the only.......obligation on the EC is to do its job and run an election. In a democracy, failure to run an election is not an option. In pursuit of its obligations the EC has the authority to call on the awesome might of the state, both police and army, to ensure that 48 million people are free to cast their votes unhindered. The government, for very good reasons, is prohibited from sending armed forces to polling stations.

If the so-called election commissioners believed they were not up to the job then their proper course would have been to resign. As many people have already pointed out, the present laughable state of affairs gives any gang of goons with guns an absolute veto over democracy in Thailand. Believe you me, that's not a situation that will be tolerated for long.

You're wrong and you don't get how state agencies work. If the EC believes the election will be disrupted the correct course of action is to advise the government, which they did. It then becomes the government's responsibility to decide what to do - they ignored the advice and said go ahead. So who is responsible? The government, it was their decision. They are also the people who created the with the amnesty bill in the first place

The EC does not have the authority to order the army about and the police have systematically failed to disperse any large scale protest from either side. They are completely and utterly useless.

[kuthow]

The question is very simple. What to do, if 95% of the seats aren't filled.

.

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The answer would be very simple, too. Wait until sufficient number of constituiences had candidates. This was not something that sprang up on the day of the election and thus all your scenarios, post election, are not applicable. The election was doomed to be voided even before the election was ever conducted for the simple fact that not enough voters had ANYONE to vote for.

If I'm not mistaken, the government was notified of this beforehand, but went ahead with the election anyway, wasting several more billions of taxpayer baht in the process, like so many other aspects of its running the country.

.

Edited March 21, 2014 by kuthow

[The Deerhunter]

What a circus! The ultimate aim is for Thailand to have a democracy Thai style which is one that the amataya or Bangkok/Army Elite are comfortable with.....

< yawn >

Can we move on from "amart" and "elite" . . . your boss and his cronies are just as much "elite" as anyone else involved in this . . .

Can one of the paranoid reds or their trolls please advise those of us who want to know, who or what are the Amart/amataya or whatever this Bangkok Elite is, you keep banging on about?. None of those vague Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter conspiracy theories or acronyms. Give us names please. Some of us poor confused non-believers (in conspiracy theories) want to know. Why are you so reluctant to name names? And I am sure that there are many people you are thinking of, other than "they who cannot be named for TVF and other legal reasons", So, let's have the names. Be brave now. I have said please several times.

While you are at it, you can also please define the major differences that upset you so much, between the Bangkok Elites (who-ever they are) and the Chiangmai elites (The Shinawatra clan & their cronies) There! I know who the Chiangmai elites are. There is no secret there.

P.S. If there are no names, then you are just repeating rumours & that is not only stupid, but it can also get you banned from TVF.

Even a private message would be helpful so I can at least see you are not just repeating Chinese Whispers.

Replace the word amart with the word hiso, and you realise how disingenuous your statement is. There are hundreds of books on the amart.

Do you have a concise list of who are the "upper crust" of the UK?

The chiangmai elite, is not elite by Bangkok standards and never will be. Did you know.there was another PM from Chiangmai before Thaksin. He was extremely short lived. Rumor has it that the Shinawatras were intimately connected business wise with that family.

That might go a long way to explaining the lack of respect accorded thaksin in Bangkok and his zeal in trying to eradicate drugs.

Still no names, yet everyone ( except perhaps you) says " We all know who they are." That indicates specific people. They apparently have a different view of who the amart than you. So lets get this right. Just TV presenters, dress designers, celebrity hairdressers & daddy's rich kids are behind it all. Those are the people that everyoine I know refers to as HiSo's. Not quite sure where Thaksin's drug blitz comes into all this but 2,500 or so extrajudicial killings by police and no reduction in the drug traffic points to a different motive behind that shameful episode in Thai history. AND Yes, I was here at the time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[smutcakes]

When the institutions of the state set themselves against the will of the people, there's only ever going to be one outcome. History shows that pitchforks beat bayonets every time.

Talk us through how the Pol Pot regime was overthrown. Is that recent enough for you?

.

Perfect example of what the old elite are risking here. An election every four years is like the release valve on a pressure cooker. It allows the general public to have their say. If they persist in obstructing democracy it's like welding the pressure release valve shut. Do that for long enough and the peoples frustration will find another release. Some 20 million people......yes, 20,000,000........are believed to have voted on Feb 2nd. How happy do you think they are today?

The Khmer Rouge event was an extreme example of peasants rebelling against an old royalist elite. It should serve as a cautionary tale for all those currently trying to suppress democracy in Thailand.

.

Wiser now?

Around 14 million or 35 per cent of the electorate cast valid votes. A further 6 million were spoiled or no votes and 21 million didn't vote at all.

Not sure how many of the 35 per cent actually voted for Pheu Thai.

Yes and we will never know until an election takes place with all parties participating, and as far as i can see there is only one party, and an affiliated mob preventing it happening.

People can call no votes however they want, but by the law of averages, you would have to say that the no votes would be split exactly the same as those that voted, unless you have another way of establishing what the no voters would do?

[Wombat6]

reds have won every single election, every time stronger

I think you should replace the word "won" with the word "Bought"

[soalbundy]

Now that the elections are voided, will pheu thai be held responsible for creating this mess and wasting tax payers money despite being warned many times. This gross incompetence has to have legal consequences.

There are no consequences in Thailand if you are a Thai and rich. Maybe this is what all the fuss is about. Do i care? the sun comes up the Baht goes down.There will be a new election,the next government will be as corrupt as the last,all will be forgotten,the dead, the wounded,the hate,until the next time around where again some idiot will proclaim he will save the nation,a nation that can't be saved from itself. Strangely enough though there are a lot of farang who will wet their beds for one "cause" or another.Stay on the sidelines and look at it as a sport,a game that never ends and has no rules.

[HannahD]

It would appear that there can never be another election in Thailand. All an obstructive party need do is prevent a few candidates from registering or prevent voting at a few polling stations and by this precedent the election is automatically void.

[The Deerhunter]

Its now plainly obvious just who they support. However this has set a precedence as any party who know they cannot win, just have to boycott the election and cause as much disruption as possible. I guess that the DEMS will just keep doing this as long as it suits them and they have the Constitutional Court in their pocket as they have now..

"However this has set a precedence as any party who know they cannot win, just have to boycott the election and cause as much disruption as possible"

The consequences could be a lot worse than that, how about the insurgents in the deep south? This is an open invitation to them to cause mayhem when the PDRC eventually disappears up its own orifice and shuffles off the political coil.

What better publicity for an insurgency than to stop a national election from taking place with a bomb or two - suthep and the CC have set the bar, well done.

Yes, that will probably happen next tiime and we know who will be behind it and the police will not find any perps for it. The reds & UDD extremists don't need any coaching, inspiration or excuses to set off bombs.

[Thai at Heart]

You're wrong and you don't get how state agencies work. If the EC believes the election will be disrupted the correct course of action is to advise the government, which they did. It then becomes the government's responsibility to decide what to do - they ignored the advice and said go ahead. So who is responsible? The government, it was their decision. They are also the people who created the with the amnesty bill in the first place

The EC does not have the authority to order the army about and the police have systematically failed to disperse any large scale protest from either side. They are completely and utterly useless.

It cannot be the sitting governments option to arbitrarily decide not to run an election. That is definitely the fastest road to dictatorship known. The responsiblity should I suppose be for the the EC to petition the courts to issue arrest warrants for people preventing it from carrying out its constitutional responsiblity, and for the authorities to actively confront protestors and anyone preventing or deliberatly preventing the carrying out of an election. No one can simply say they don't want to try to carry out an election because it's hard or dangerous. You are compelled by the law to carry out your constitutional responsibnlities. If you don't, you better have a legal judegement why you didn't do it.

Army's can't disobey orders and civilians can't disobey the constitution. That is pretty simple really.

It should be incumbent on the EC, to commandeer any state assets required to facilitate an election. You cannot cower in the corner and say you won't do it. If they won't carry out the election fire them, and appoint a bunch who will.

Edited March 21, 2014 by Thai at Heart

[englishoak]

Ok. There will be a new election.

And now that Suthep has shown that he can disrupt an election and prevent Thailand from having an elected legally constituted government, are we going to have a repeat for the next election?

There has to be a new election, That's what the CC ruling means.

Now its up to Suthep and the Democrats to respect that ruling and to allow the election to proceed. The EC has enough advance warning to get itself organized and to do its job. Hopefully, this time, the people who attempt to sabotage the election will be arrested and charged immediately.

The military has to decide what it will do.

End result: I predict another PTP election victory and the rout of the Democrat party.

Unfortunately he already made his position more than clear last night

Prior to the Constitutional Court ruling, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who was a deputy prime minister under the previous Democrat-led government, told his supporters in a speech on Thursday there would be no compromise.

"If the court rules the election void, don't even dream that there will be another election. If a new election date is declared, then we'll take care of every province and the election won't be successful again," he said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/21/uk-thailand-protest-idUKBREA2K05420140321

In case people havnt noticed the army has been moving hardware about the last few weeks and towards BKK. It was pretty obvious then things were being set up for a court void today. Indeed I just won 15k baht betting on it.

Suthep is confident he can ruin or block the next election and the Dems have already hinted they will do the same as last time.

If anyone was in doubt that certain people are trying to hold Thailand hostage to unelected ransom with thugs that beat, shoot, drown people with impunity they should be clear now.

Should there be the same farce this coming election then a lot more people will die, this is the only way Suthep or the Dems can force the army to come in. Destabilise things into violence, this is and has been their goal all along and the only way they can take power.

Not so different to things in the Ukraine then ... the unelected are demanding to run things and the ones behind it are the same elite scum that want it all on their terms without the peoples consent.

Get ready for a lot more violence, resuming the dropping of the baht and Thai economy having more problems.

Waht a

[rjcampbe]

Would be interesting to know what grounds for voiding the elections.

.

Contempt for the democratic wishes of the Thai people.

20mln citisens voted in this election. The court invalidated their political choice. The court is in the pockets of the ruling class

Come on people...

I'm not supporting either side in this because they are both wrong, but in this case the court did the right thing... it was the only thing they COULD do.

Candidates were not allowed to register and people were not allowed to vote. Who among you could argue that they SHOULD have legitimized an election under that situation?

Now, I agree that the people who prevented the candidates from being able to register and the people from being able to vote should be charged with a crime and convicted, but that is another case for another day. Today, the court made the right call.

Edited March 21, 2014 by rjcampbe

[Thai at Heart]

Ok. There will be a new election.

And now that Suthep has shown that he can disrupt an election and prevent Thailand from having an elected legally constituted government, are we going to have a repeat for the next election?

There has to be a new election, That's what the CC ruling means.

Now its up to Suthep and the Democrats to respect that ruling and to allow the election to proceed. The EC has enough advance warning to get itself organized and to do its job. Hopefully, this time, the people who attempt to sabotage the election will be arrested and charged immediately.

The military has to decide what it will do.

End result: I predict another PTP election victory and the rout of the Democrat party.

Unfortunately he already made his position more than clear last night

Prior to the Constitutional Court ruling, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who was a deputy prime minister under the previous Democrat-led government, told his supporters in a speech on Thursday there would be no compromise.

"If the court rules the election void, don't even dream that there will be another election. If a new election date is declared, then we'll take care of every province and the election won't be successful again," he said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/21/uk-thailand-protest-idUKBREA2K05420140321

In case people havnt noticed the army has been moving hardware about the last few weeks and towards BKK. It was pretty obvious then things were being set up for a court void today. Indeed I just won 15k baht betting on it.

Suthep is confident he can ruin or block the next election and the Dems have already hinted they will do the same as last time.

If anyone was in doubt that certain people are trying to hold Thailand hostage to unelected ransom with thugs that beat, shoot, drown people with impunity they should be clear now.

Should there be the same farce this coming election then a lot more people will die, this is the only way Suthep or the Dems can force the army to come in. Destabilise things into violence, this is and has been their goal all along and the only way they can take power.

Not so different to things in the Ukraine then ... the unelected are demanding to run things and the ones behind it are the same elite scum that want it all on their terms without the peoples consent.

Get ready for a lot more violence, resuming the dropping of the baht and Thai economy having more problems.

Waht a

The only way out of this for Suthep and the Dems is for the army to step in. They can't keep blocking elections and failing to attend. At some point the country has to get a goevrnment.

If Yingluck is smart about this, she will simply announce another date for an election that is in keeping with the EC judgement. If the PDRC try to block the vote, there will be big problems whichever way. The army can't step in if there isn't confrontation. Who is going to blink first....

[kuthow]

I am to lazy to read all the replies, so all i will say is that:

this sets a horrible precedent for the future whoever you support.

Am i right in believing that voting in any province in the last 70 odd years has never been delayed past election date?

I'm believing that voting with no candidate to vote for in 28 constituencies has never occurred in an election here in the last 70 years, or so.

It's reassuring that what would have been a horrible precedent for rule breaking was not sanctioned.

[Thai at Heart]

Would be interesting to know what grounds for voiding the elections.

.

Contempt for the democratic wishes of the Thai people.

20mln citisens voted in this election. The court invalidated their political choice. The court is in the pockets of the ruling class

Come on people...

I'm not supporting either side in this because they are both wrong, but in this case the court did the right thing... it was the only thing they COULD do.

Candidates were not allowed to register and people were not allowed to vote. Who among you could argue that the SHOULD have legitimized an election under that situation?

Now, I agree that the people who prevented the candidates from being able to register and the people from being able to vote should be charged with a crime and convicted, but that is another case for another day. Today, the court made the right call.

Why?

Why couldn't they say, those votes count, and the EC is compelled to have to hold an election in those areas that didn't vote, and that the EC has the consitutional obligation to carry it out. The interim government stays as is, until they reach 95%

Then you would have the rather incongruos position of the army or police HAVING to arrest supporters and having to arrest government officials who actively prevent the election. Which of course, they should have done the first time. If the EC doesn't do it, they should be jailed for not carrying out their constitutional requirement.

[HonestQuietBob]

There's no mention of when a fresh new election will be held. This court obviously wants to deliberately create a power vacuum. These right-wing machinations are now so brazen and transparent it is a national embarrassment.

People who know they are going to lose, cheat, usually by making up the rules as they go along. It's corruption on a cosmic scale, and this form of corruption is now the primary means which the right-wing/royalist/yellow side uses to gain power without an electoral mandate. They've done it before so of course they will try it again.

Given that the two sides seem to be of roughly equal power (at least while the army is keeping out of it), I can only see two solutions: one is the miraculous appearance of a non-aligned, capable, charismatic (and liberal) leader who can set up a new party on a new set of principles - an opportunity there for somebody.

The other is to accept this nonsense with forbearance until a simple and inevitable stroke of force majeure changes the political landscape radically.

Judicial conspiracy theories are not necessary. The EC publicly warned the government ad nauseum that it was not possible to conduct an election under the circumstances, and the government disregarded the EC's advice. The court is merely interpreting the law, what else would you have them do? It's up to the government and the EC to work out a new election date - but not before the government does some (I would imagine, rather ugly) politicking to make the poll possible.

.

Once an election has been called it is an absolute requirement of the constitution that it be held within six weeks of the house dissolution. The only role of the EC is to then organise the election. What on earth ever gave you the idea that the EC has the authority to warn the government of Thailand that it should break its obligations under the constitution?

Also, who told you that " it's up to the government and the EC to work out a new election date"? Only governments have the authority to call elections. I thought everyone knew that.

The EC has an OBLIGATION to warn the government if it believes the election is unfeasible it can't carry out its duties, it's standard duty of care. They would have been negligent if they didn't, and as it turns out they were right.

Since the political environment hasn't improved, the government unilaterally calling another election will have the same result, ie. failure. Obviously they need to consult the EC on how to create an environment in which a poll can successfully be held and obviously that is going to include some discussion of the date.

Any more questions?

.

No questions at all. The one......the only.......obligation on the EC is to do its job and run an election. In a democracy, failure to run an election is not an option. In pursuit of its obligations the EC has the authority to call on the awesome might of the state, both police and army, to ensure that 48 million people are free to cast their votes unhindered. The government, for very good reasons, is prohibited from sending armed forces to polling stations.

If the so-called election commissioners believed they were not up to the job then their proper course would have been to resign. As many people have already pointed out, the present laughable state of affairs gives any gang of goons with guns an absolute veto over democracy in Thailand. Believe you me, that's not a situation that will be tolerated for long.

You're wrong and you don't get how state agencies work. If the EC believes the election will be disrupted the correct course of action is to advise the government, which they did. It then becomes the government's responsibility to decide what to do - they ignored the advice and said go ahead. So who is responsible? The government, it was their decision. They are also the people who created the with the amnesty bill in the first place

The EC does not have the authority to order the army about and the police have systematically failed to disperse any large scale protest from either side. They are completely and utterly useless.

People who know they are going to lose boycott.

End of story

[HonestQuietBob]

Ok. There will be a new election.

And now that Suthep has shown that he can disrupt an election and prevent Thailand from having an elected legally constituted government, are we going to have a repeat for the next election?

There has to be a new election, That's what the CC ruling means.

Now its up to Suthep and the Democrats to respect that ruling and to allow the election to proceed. The EC has enough advance warning to get itself organized and to do its job. Hopefully, this time, the people who attempt to sabotage the election will be arrested and charged immediately.

The military has to decide what it will do.

End result: I predict another PTP election victory and the rout of the Democrat party.

Unfortunately he already made his position more than clear last night

Prior to the Constitutional Court ruling, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who was a deputy prime minister under the previous Democrat-led government, told his supporters in a speech on Thursday there would be no compromise.

"If the court rules the election void, don't even dream that there will be another election. If a new election date is declared, then we'll take care of every province and the election won't be successful again," he said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/21/uk-thailand-protest-idUKBREA2K05420140321

In case people havnt noticed the army has been moving hardware about the last few weeks and towards BKK. It was pretty obvious then things were being set up for a court void today. Indeed I just won 15k baht betting on it.

Suthep is confident he can ruin or block the next election and the Dems have already hinted they will do the same as last time.

If anyone was in doubt that certain people are trying to hold Thailand hostage to unelected ransom with thugs that beat, shoot, drown people with impunity they should be clear now.

Should there be the same farce this coming election then a lot more people will die, this is the only way Suthep or the Dems can force the army to come in. Destabilise things into violence, this is and has been their goal all along and the only way they can take power.

Not so different to things in the Ukraine then ... the unelected are demanding to run things and the ones behind it are the same elite scum that want it all on their terms without the peoples consent.

Get ready for a lot more violence, resuming the dropping of the baht and Thai economy having more problems.

Waht a

Which fool bet 15k against this verdict?

Whatever doubt there was disappeared the minute they bumped off the (non yellow) leader of the senate.

BangkokPundit spelt this scenario out ages ago.

[ginjag]

Ok. There will be a new election.

And now that Suthep has shown that he can disrupt an election and prevent Thailand from having an elected legally constituted government, are we going to have a repeat for the next election?

There has to be a new election, That's what the CC ruling means.

Now its up to Suthep and the Democrats to respect that ruling and to allow the election to proceed. The EC has enough advance warning to get itself organized and to do its job. Hopefully, this time, the people who attempt to sabotage the election will be arrested and charged immediately.

The military has to decide what it will do.

End result: I predict another PTP election victory and the rout of the Democrat party.

Unfortunately he already made his position more than clear last night

Prior to the Constitutional Court ruling, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who was a deputy prime minister under the previous Democrat-led government, told his supporters in a speech on Thursday there would be no compromise.

"If the court rules the election void, don't even dream that there will be another election. If a new election date is declared, then we'll take care of every province and the election won't be successful again," he said.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/21/uk-thailand-protest-idUKBREA2K05420140321

In case people havnt noticed the army has been moving hardware about the last few weeks and towards BKK. It was pretty obvious then things were being set up for a court void today. Indeed I just won 15k baht betting on it.

Suthep is confident he can ruin or block the next election and the Dems have already hinted they will do the same as last time.

If anyone was in doubt that certain people are trying to hold Thailand hostage to unelected ransom with thugs that beat, shoot, drown people with impunity they should be clear now.

Should there be the same farce this coming election then a lot more people will die, this is the only way Suthep or the Dems can force the army to come in. Destabilise things into violence, this is and has been their goal all along and the only way they can take power.

Not so different to things in the Ukraine then ... the unelected are demanding to run things and the ones behind it are the same elite scum that want it all on their terms without the peoples consent.

Get ready for a lot more violence, resuming the dropping of the baht and Thai economy having more problems.

Waht a

Let the courts sort out the corruption and Thai government neglect.

NOT Sutheps fingers in the till OR GK prediction similar to TATs.

Lets get rid of who has had their fingers trapped in the till, clean the job up--whoever they may be.

Elections are useless if half the government may well be in court and not electable. So that will be another 3 billion wasted---brilliant.

The Dems ---Suthep is that all you believers think about.. SHAME get your heads clear and want all the guilty arrested WHOEVER.

Rid Thailand of the threats from extreme parties.

Edited March 21, 2014 by ginjag

[Publicus]

Ok. There will be a new election.

And now that Suthep has shown that he can disrupt an election and prevent Thailand from having an elected legally constituted government, are we going to have a repeat for the next election?

There has to be a new election, That's what the CC ruling means.

Now its up to Suthep and the Democrats to respect that ruling and to allow the election to proceed. The EC has enough advance warning to get itself organized and to do its job. Hopefully, this time, the people who attempt to sabotage the election will be arrested and charged immediately.

The military has to decide what it will do.

End result: I predict another PTP election victory and the rout of the Democrat party.

That depends if the real reason the election was nullified is rectified. Otherwise, the next election will be nullified also.

The court reasoned that the election violated Article 108 (2) of the Constitution because no candidates stood in 28 constituencies in eight southern provinces, and thus making it impossible to hold the election on the same day nationwide.

Some people like the not independent courts and the coup written 2007 constitution that reshaped the courts and the bureaucracy while leaving the military to itself as is the custom and flawed law of Thailand. Some people like the 2007 coup written extra-constitutional constitution that included a pardon of the coup makers and of the coup ruling council and its operatives.

Let me hear you say Suthep needs to keep himself and his fascist street goons away from the next election when it occurs.

[Crushdepth]

You're wrong and you don't get how state agencies work. If the EC believes the election will be disrupted the correct course of action is to advise the government, which they did. It then becomes the government's responsibility to decide what to do - they ignored the advice and said go ahead. So who is responsible? The government, it was their decision. They are also the people who created the with the amnesty bill in the first place

The EC does not have the authority to order the army about and the police have systematically failed to disperse any large scale protest from either side. They are completely and utterly useless.

It cannot be the sitting governments option to arbitrarily decide not to run an election. That is definitely the fastest road to dictatorship known. The responsiblity should I suppose be for the the EC to petition the courts to issue arrest warrants for people preventing it from carrying out its constitutional responsiblity, and for the authorities to actively confront protestors and anyone preventing or deliberatly preventing the carrying out of an election. No one can simply say they don't want to try to carry out an election because it's hard or dangerous. You are compelled by the law to carry out your constitutional responsibnlities. If you don't, you better have a legal judegement why you didn't do it.

Army's can't disobey orders and civilians can't disobey the constitution. That is pretty simple really.

It should be incumbent on the EC, to commandeer any state assets required to facilitate an election. You cannot cower in the corner and say you won't do it. If they won't carry out the election fire them, and appoint a bunch who will.

You're letting the government off the hook way too lightly here. They were in charge of security, not the EC. They had a state of emergency in place and the army under their command and they still failed to prevent the polls being disrupted.

[fab4]

The 6 judges are idiots.

a referendum. The provision in question has no ambiguity, and so is not open to interpretation. This would be beyond the powers of the court.

Correction.

The 6 judges are biased idiots

BANGKOK: -- Independent law academic Verapat Pariyawong said the Constitutional Court had overruled the constitution as the Charter allowed for elections to be staged at a later date if all the House seats were not occupied.

Indeed. The question is very simple. What to do, if 95% of the seats aren't filled.

Throw out all the votes and start again, or count the votes and see how many you have achieved? Well, I don't see why you shouldn't count the votes that have been cast. That would be to disenfranchise people if they have voted.

a. So, firstly count the votes.

b. If you reach 95% of all constituencies you have a government, if you don't, what to do?

Well this is the kicker. If they have only 95% because of deaths, yellow cards and red cards, what do they do? HOLD BY ELECTIONS until they get to 100%

What would they do if they had 95% and 2 MPs died on the first day of the new parliament? Would they cancel all the votes and hold and election, of course not. Is it really the case that if in the life of the government there isn't a sitting quorum of 95%, the parliament ceases. Now this has been confirmed, I would suggest that the PTP MP's all start wearing bullet proof vests, because basically you can spark a general electoin by having a mass death or resignation of parties NOT IN THE COALITION. This is clearly a democratic nonsense. If the Democrats had resigned en masse, that would mean there wouldn't be a quorum of 95% so there has to be an election? Absolute nonsense.

So this situation completely causes massive confusion about what would they do, if through disqalifications and the such, there cease to be 95% of all MP's sitting. Just imagine if a plane fell out of the sky with 20 MPs on it. Would that spark a general election? I doubt if very very much.

So what should they do?

a. Count the votes and announce the results, however many seats are sitting, announce it.

b. Hold by elections until they get to 95%.

c. At 95% get together and elect the PM

d. Hold more by elections until it gets to 100%

e. Then get busy modifying the constitution so that you don't need 95% of sitting MP's to form a parliament.

"Just imagine if a plane fell out of the sky with 20 MPs on it. Would that spark a general election?"

Well in Britain it would spark a round of applause