Thai Military outlines sweeping political reforms to NRC

[webfact]

NRC'S GUIDELINE
Military outlines sweeping political reforms to NRC
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Among its suggestions are direct election of PM, poll winners getting 50 per cent of votes and no statute of limitations for corruption by political office holders

The Defence Ministry Permanent Secretary's Office yesterday suggested sweeping changes to the country's political sector to the National Reform Council as part of national reforms.

Among the proposals are direct election of the prime minister or appointment of the government head by the legislature, requiring election candidates to gain sufficient support in a "primary vote" in their constituencies and to be free of offences against the monarchy, and requiring election winners to gain at least 50 per cent of votes.

It has also proposed that the minimum voting age be raised to 20 from 18, and candidates for the legislature be 30-70 years old. At present, MP candidates are required to be at least 25 years old.

Copies of the written proposals were distributed to the new NRC members yesterday when they reported for work at Parliament.

The Defence Ministry claimed its proposals reflected opinions and suggestions collected from the public. It was the first agency to formally submit its reform proposals to the NRC.

In its 10-point proposal for reform of the political sector, the ministry suggested that the prime minister may be elected directly from MP candidates, voted by elected MPs, as is the case at present, or appointed by the legislature from the outside, as a non-politician.

Three types of legislatures have been suggested - single chamber, or only the House of Representatives; bicameral, or House of Representatives and Senate; or three chambers comprising the House of Representatives, Senate and People's Council for "better balance of power".

On political parties, it should be easy for people in all regions of the country to enter the political party system and political parties should be free from domination by wealthy financiers, as is the case at present.

On members of Parliament and senators, the candidates should be aged between 30 and 70, with no criteria for academic credentials, and they should not have committed offences against the monarchy.

MP candidates should not need to be a member of a political party, as is the case at present. Also, MP candidates should have the support of at least 200 eligible voters in their constituencies.

Proposal for run-off

MP candidates need to earn at least 50 per cent of votes to win an election. If no candidate captures the majority of votes, there should be a run-off between the two leading candidates.

Certain independent organisations involved in the checks and balances system for the executive branch should be restructured. They are the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, the Constitutional Court, the Election Commission and the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

There should be no statute of limitations in corruption cases involving political office holders, and there should be new courts to try cases involving elections and corruption.

The Defence Ministry also offered proposals for 10 other areas of reform. For legislative reform, it proposed amendments to 10 laws, including those on taxation, control of public demonstrations, disclosure of official information and city planning.

For economic reform, it called for progressive taxation on personal income, corporate income and land holdings in order to improve the efficiency and fairness of tax collection, among other changes.

On educational reform, the proposal calls for oversight of education to be shifted to local administrative organisations, and that free education should be provided for 15 years.

Altogether 41 members of the 250-strong NRC showed up at Parliament on the first day of work.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Military-outlines-sweeping-political-reforms-to-NR-30245054.html

-- The Nation 2014-10-09

[hanuman2543]

MP candidates should not only have not committed offences against the monarchy. They should not have committed any offence. No statute of limitations for corruption is a good suggestion but how about no statute of limitations for murder and human rights abuses?

Edited October 8, 2014 by hanuman2543

[ramrod711]

Looks like the party list system is off the table, I certainly hope it's gone for good.

[craigt3365]

Please be careful with your comments. We are still under martial law.

[airconsult]

Any reason only 41 out of 250 turned up?

[Thailand]

Any reason only 41 out of 250 turned up?

It's a tough job. They are probably tired already and a little stressed.

[Boxclever]

So what the NRC are proposing is the formation of a politburo.

[robblok]

No statue of limitation for corruption.. wow that is one that would never have made it under the PTP, I hope the junta gets it done then its a clear sign they are the bestt hing ever happened to Thailand plus its the end of Taksin.

[kamahele]

MP candidates should not only have not committed offences against the monarchy. They should not have committed any offence. No statute of limitations for corruption is a good suggestion but how about no statute of limitations for murder and human rights abuses?

You are so correct that the candidate should not have committed any illegal behavior.

[siampolee]

It certainly appears that the suggestions made are a big step forward,However let u sall rememmber these ideas are but suggstions at the moment and whether or not they become cold hard facts remains to be seen.

Personally I hope that those suggestions which are on the table are put into the statute book and we might just start to observe an improvement in the political scenario in Thailand.Only time alone will tell though.

[smedly]

MP candidates should not only have not committed offences against the monarchy. They should not have committed any offence. No statute of limitations for corruption is a good suggestion but how about no statute of limitations for murder and human rights abuses?

absolutely 100% agree with you

[seajae]

Finally some decent suggestions but will the rest agree to the no limitations on corruption, should be for any convictions but this would be a start. What they are proposing will hopefully see an end to parties like the ptp run by a criminal from outside the country as well as having to be rich to run a party. We can only hope that eventually we get some decent rules/laws set up to stop what has been happening in the past.

[lvr181]

A great start if the PM can carry it off!

[fab4]

No statue of limitation for corruption.. wow that is one that would never have made it under the PTP, I hope the junta gets it done then its a clear sign they are the bestt hing ever happened to Thailand plus its the end of Taksin.

It also didn't make it under Chaun Leekpai or abhisit's governments, so what is your point?

You realise that Thaksin (note the spelling, Taksin was King of Siam in the 18th Century) was convicted of "abuse of power", not corruption, so your announcement that it would mean the end of Thaksin is premature, I believe.

[fab4]

On political parties, it should be easy for people in all regions of the country to enter the political party system and political parties should be free from domination by wealthy financiers, as is the case at present.

On paper it would seem to be a sound idea. Unfortunately in practise it would lead to the formation of large numbers of small political parties and subsequent multi party coalition governments.

In eight general elections held between 1979 and 1996, no political parties attained a majority. The largest parties won between 21.9% and 31.8% of all MPs’ seats. On average, there were 16 political parties competing in an election, with the effective number of coalition parties around 6.0 (Chambers and Croissant 2010).

Coalition Politics and Reform Dynamics in Thailand - Veerayooth Kanchoochat - February 2014

http://www.grips.ac.jp/r-center/wp-content/uploads/13-26.pdf

This leads to unstable governments - factional conflicts led to the downfall of 5 out of 11 governments and each leading coalition lost the subsequent election. Meaningful reform is impossible under this arrangement - perhaps that is the idea of the military. Once they have made their mark on the constitution and reforms, further reform will be unlikely and the status quo is preserved.

[robblok]

No statue of limitation for corruption.. wow that is one that would never have made it under the PTP, I hope the junta gets it done then its a clear sign they are the bestt hing ever happened to Thailand plus its the end of Taksin.

It also didn't make it under Chaun Leekpai or abhisit's governments, so what is your point?

You realise that Thaksin (note the spelling, Taksin was King of Siam in the 18th Century) was convicted of "abuse of power", not corruption, so your announcement that it would mean the end of Thaksin is premature, I believe.

There are enough cases against him that will end him if this law gets into work. Because there is no more statue of limitation on all his cases.

The point is that if it makes it this time then we can celebrate the junta.It would be a big step forwards one that could never have happened under a PTP goverment. Your point about Abhisit is moot as he was in a weak coalition government witht a party that could rival PTP corruption wise.

[bkkgooner]

Would like to hear the reasoning behind raising the voting age to 20

[Thai at Heart]

Looks like the party list system is off the table, I certainly hope it's gone for good.

Well that will put the cat among the pigeons for the political establishment on all sides.

[MediaWatcher]

" The Defence Ministry claimed its proposals reflected opinions and suggestions collected from the public", just who is this "public?" Does anyone know of any notice calling for public submissions, going by the Op it could by members from a very "select" public.

[brucec64]

Very interesting that the first "suggestions" are from the military. They are obviously setting the entire reform agenda and the NRC will have a rubber stamp role similar to the NLA.

[tbthailand]

Marching orders received, let's go!

Might be done by Christmas

[rickirs]

NCPO "offers" some interesting reforms (too many to address):

1) minimum voting age be raised to 20 from 18 - many University students get their vote disenfranchised as do working Thais who cannot afford higher education even beyond age 15. Why not lower voting rights to any "liberated" (not supported by parents and living on own) Thai to the age of 17?

2) the prime minister may be elected directly from MP candidates - why would people who are not yet elected have the power to elect the PM? If the MP candidates were appointed by the NCPO, then maybe it wouldn't make any difference.

3) the prime minister may be voted by elected MPs, as is the case at present- in the present case there are no elected MP's. They were appointed by the NCPO et al. So will the NCPO appointment power of MP's continue as part of reform?

4) the prime minister may be appointed by the legislature from the outside, as a non-politician - is the military considered "non-politician?" Of course if appointment by the legislature is done as in the presnet case, ie., NCPO appoints the legislature members and so in effect appoints the PM. Designating a "non-politican" can give elitist and the wealthy great advantages over less fortunate people and they have independent resources and likely business networks to promote their candicies to the legislature.

5) Three types of legislatures have been suggested - as long as the NCPO possess absolute power over the government, or so long as the military can freely overthrow the government at any time, it doesn't really matter how the legislature is formed.

A couple reforms I missed:

1) Constitution and amendments by public referendums

2) Government of the People by the People - no exceptions or excuses.

[MediaWatcher]

brucec64, on 09 Oct 2014 - 15:48, said:

Very interesting that the first "suggestions" are from the military. They are obviously setting the entire reform agenda and the NRC will have a rubber stamp role similar to the NLA.

An insight into how the military acts and what it does to get its way read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Coup_(Thailand)

[longway]

On political parties, it should be easy for people in all regions of the country to enter the political party system and political parties should be free from domination by wealthy financiers, as is the case at present.

On paper it would seem to be a sound idea. Unfortunately in practise it would lead to the formation of large numbers of small political parties and subsequent multi party coalition governments.

In eight general elections held between 1979 and 1996, no political parties attained a majority. The largest parties won between 21.9% and 31.8% of all MPs seats. On average, there were 16 political parties competing in an election, with the effective number of coalition parties around 6.0 (Chambers and Croissant 2010).

Coalition Politics and Reform Dynamics in Thailand - Veerayooth Kanchoochat - February 2014

http://www.grips.ac.jp/r-center/wp-content/uploads/13-26.pdf

This leads to unstable governments - factional conflicts led to the downfall of 5 out of 11 governments and each leading coalition lost the subsequent election. Meaningful reform is impossible under this arrangement - perhaps that is the idea of the military. Once they have made their mark on the constitution and reforms, further reform will be unlikely and the status quo is preserved.

So stability is more important than removing barriers to stand for election and being able to vote freely. Interesting.

[JAG]

It certainly appears that the suggestions made are a big step forward,However let u sall rememmber these ideas are but suggstions at the moment and whether or not they become cold hard facts remains to be seen.

Personally I hope that those suggestions which are on the table are put into the statute book and we might just start to observe an improvement in the political scenario in Thailand.Only time alone will tell though.

But let us not forget who is making the suggestions.

[wackybacky]

'and no statute of limitations for corruption by political office holders'

Or civil servants too I hope.

But this particular gem certainly puts the previous government in a dodgy position. Including Thaksin, Yingluck and Co and certain Senate and house speakers.

[Strangebrew]

Well seems to look like moving in right direction maybe a few amendments to this rough draft and Thailand could well be on the way to a proper government. Might be wise to have all assets and businesses listed by all running for office. This could be monitored by a civilian body. But so far so good.

[fab4]

On political parties, it should be easy for people in all regions of the country to enter the political party system and political parties should be free from domination by wealthy financiers, as is the case at present.

On paper it would seem to be a sound idea. Unfortunately in practise it would lead to the formation of large numbers of small political parties and subsequent multi party coalition governments.

In eight general elections held between 1979 and 1996, no political parties attained a majority. The largest parties won between 21.9% and 31.8% of all MPs seats. On average, there were 16 political parties competing in an election, with the effective number of coalition parties around 6.0 (Chambers and Croissant 2010).

Coalition Politics and Reform Dynamics in Thailand - Veerayooth Kanchoochat - February 2014

http://www.grips.ac.jp/r-center/wp-content/uploads/13-26.pdf

This leads to unstable governments - factional conflicts led to the downfall of 5 out of 11 governments and each leading coalition lost the subsequent election. Meaningful reform is impossible under this arrangement - perhaps that is the idea of the military. Once they have made their mark on the constitution and reforms, further reform will be unlikely and the status quo is preserved.

So stability is more important than removing barriers to stand for election and being able to vote freely. Interesting.

What's interesting is your "conclusion", if you could call it that, that there are now barriers to standing for election and voting freely as a result of the change of constitution.

It was the generally acclaimed "Peoples Constitution" of 1997 that brought about these changes ( a fact probably not gone unnoticed by the military who are seeking to return to the old ways of weak governments and a strong army ) and several political commentators have commented on the pitfalls of multiple small parties forming weak coalition governments.

As far as the ruling elite are concerned it does have the advantage of diluting the vote and disadvantaging large parties, obviously to their favour in their quest to remove Thaksin and his political parties from the scene entirely. However, coupled with the removal of the party list system, they will also remove a major string from the democrat party's bow (note that abhisit changed the constitution before the 2011 Election to (1) remove seats from the North, twelve in number, and (2) increase the number of party list seats from 80 to 125, as the Dems traditionally fared better in the party list than with constituency seats, not that it did him any good).

Stability of governments is a good thing but your argument that it comes at the expense of "free voting" is disingenuous to say the least. 40 political parties contested the 2011 Election, 11 of them won seats, plenty of choice there. This is just part of a calculated move by the army to ensure the "right" people form governments (whenever that may be)..............................

Edited October 9, 2014 by fab4

[JOC]

So the "independant" NRC are given a wishlist by the army of which "reforms" are wanted by the feudal masters and their mighty backers!!

All smoke and mirrors to avoid free and fair elections (forget your comments on votebuying, both sides are equally bad).

Even if PTP should win again, which they probably would, at least a majority of the Thai people had a say in, who are stealing from them. And if not happy, vote them out at the next election.

Thailand has to break the vicious cycle of democratically elected governments getting ousted in coups or by the legal system. This is only helping the fat cats to get even fatter!

To the posters here suffering from the-strong-man-syndrome, wake up and smell the coffee. Your hero and his sponsors couldn't care less about Thailand, it is all about keeping their trouts in the trough, even at the cost of democracy!!