Thai elections may be delayed until 2016: report

[whybother]

Not that I recall. Do you really need to have the differences between the 2006 and 2014 coups explained to you?

Yep. Please explain the differences.

Martial law with no end in sight, much more censorship and restrictions on free speech and assembly, detentions without charge or any rights, no sense of urgency in writing the new constitution or scheduling elections, etc. Check Wikipedia if you need details.

Didn't you accuse me of not reading much on another thread?

Ok, that's 2006. How is 2014 different?

You don't read much, do you?

You're the one that said they're different. You've described one. How was the other one different?

[Thai at Heart]

A govt finance guy called phassee oe "tax".

Too funny.

[whybother]

Well, except that in THIS case, you HAVE to be married to SOMEBODY, and the former wife actually WAS a lot worse...

Just because the situation came about through coercion doesn`t mean you have to support it.

Whilst the previous government was corrupt and dreadful, the current is worse. Not only are they also equally corrupt, but they have limited personal freedoms and are guiding the economy into a free fall.

Whats wrong with wanting something better than Thaksins or the elites proxys squabbling over the countries riches, whilst 90% live in poverty?

Equally corrupt? What have They done so far that you could even know if there was corruption there or not?

[heybruce]

Not that I recall. Do you really need to have the differences between the 2006 and 2014 coups explained to you?

Yep. Please explain the differences.

Martial law with no end in sight, much more censorship and restrictions on free speech and assembly, detentions without charge or any rights, no sense of urgency in writing the new constitution or scheduling elections, etc. Check Wikipedia if you need details.

Didn't you accuse me of not reading much on another thread?

Ok, that's 2006. How is 2014 different?

You don't read much, do you?

You're the one that said they're different. You've described one. How was the other one different?

I described the present, and you didn't recognize it. I also suggested one of many sources where you could educate yourself on the difference between the 2006 and 2014 coup. As I noted before, you don't read much, do you?

[heybruce]

If it took a month for every principle of democracy the PTP broke the Junta would take 14 months to reform the country. If elections are to be delayed until 2016 it just shows that they have their work cut out for them.

If only the PTP were democratic and listened to the majority even when it did not suit their agenda they would have won the last election (that majority may well have suited them in that election even though all in ices said it didn't) and this would not even be news.

Lets hope the PTP respect the election results if it does not go their way next time because if it doesn't that is what the Junta are worried about I suspect and rightfully so as the PTP never ever respect a majority unless it suits them.

That is why reform is needed.

Still keeping your 14 principles secret, aren't you?

The PTP won more votes than any other party in the election. Only you would state they didn't win the election.

There's never been a problem having the PTP respect election results, has there? It's another party that can't accept losing.

[icare999]

good longer the better anything to keep vile last lot out and if its not democratic tough luck. Thailand needs a tough if possible good dictator and if its someone who lines their pockets and lives a high style just think of it as proper pay. Less corrupt than our western lot who simply go on bank directorship, write books, give lecture tours at minimum 250,000 us $ a pop ( Did I say scumbag Tony Blair. Useless Gorden brown and even lot i support such as John major and even total failures such as what was his name neil knock foot lets give them 1 million pound a year jobs in EEC UN or somewhere while poor mugs like us tnihk were better than here.

[djhotsox]

So what's the rush? Let the Junta rule the country for as long as they feel they need! Seems to be running smoothly....or smoother.....?

Who is to benefit from "fair" elections anyways? Surely not the average Thai citizen! C'mon people! The "average" Thai citizen doesn't even understand the concept of democracy let alone understand the power of their vote! Until they are fully educated they need someone to run the show here and take care of them, that someone may as well be the lesser of all the evils, may as well be the military!

New elections will simply mean the yellows vs. the reds again to see who will find a new way to line their pockets. You can draw up a new Constitution, you can make new laws for reform, but until corruption here is tackled head on with serious consequences being upheld by the courts then nothing will ever change.

At least with the Junta we can be certain of one thing, there won't be another coup!

[MaxLee]

The whole point here is,.... that no matter who rules the country,.... the rich and influential powerful will always get away with murder, crime, bribes and corruption, while the poor will always be brain-washed, either REDEMOCRACY-style or military-style and idiot-i-fied 4-LIFE

[whybother]

I described the present, and you didn't recognize it. I also suggested one of many sources where you could educate yourself on the difference between the 2006 and 2014 coup. As I noted before, you don't read much, do you?

From everything I know about 2006, it was no different to now.

How do you think it was different?

[JAG]

The big problem with democracy is that it gives too much power to poor people, so the wrong people get elected. Only the rich and powerful elite are actually qualified to run things, and so, if by error they do not get elected, they need to halt democracy, and then decide with their superior wisdom if and when there is going to be another election.

The fact that these misguided poor people don't want the elite to run things must be solved by educating them until they DO want the elite to be in charge, and so they MUST hold off elections until that happens.

The only other way of ensuring the right result is to somehow limit the votes. Clearly it's totally wrong that a poor farmer's vote has as much weight in the elections as that of a very rich CEO, say , who has high intelligence and knows a lot of judges and politicians. That gives the poor farmer an unfairly equal say, even though he is not rich or powerful, and doesn't know the right people.

A good way to get round this glaring imbalance would be to restore the full weight of the rich CEO's vote by making each farmer's vote worth, say, one quarter of the vote of a rich person. Then society would get back to the way we all know it should be: with the people who always run things guaranteed to go on running things in perpetuity, with no unhelpful confusion.

This would be very good for Thailand, as rich people always help poor people, even at the cost of their own financial disadvantage, and so giving rich people a vote worth four times more than poor people would HELP poor people. It's so obvious!

In any case I now believe the Army are waiting for an event that will itself precipitate so much political and social chaos that they will be forced to keep control for at least five years (or more) to ensure public order...

Nice piss take.

True, and yet also a stunningly accurate analysis of what is behind the coup, together with a neat precis of the eventual"reforms" to Thai democracy!

Edited November 27, 2014 by JAG

[diehard60]

Cleaning beaches, removing streetvendors and fixing the taxi-ranks clearly takes time!!

What does that have to do with elections?????

[webfact]

Elections 'unlikely before 2016'
The Nation,
Agence France-Presse


Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha shakes hands with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung, right.

Sommai and Prawit say the return of democracy in 2015 an realistic prospect; martial law to stay

BANGKOK: -- The next general election could be delayed by a year, two top ministers said yesterday.

In an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, Finance Minister Sommai Phasi said bringing back democracy any time before mid-2016 was unrealistic.

"As announced by the prime minister [General Prayut Chan-o-cha], it would take about one year. But, from my feeling, I think it may take, maybe, a year and a half," he told the British broadcaster.

Sommai said he had just last week spoken to Prayut about the feasibility of holding elections. Prayut had initially said his government hoped to hold fresh polls around October or thereabouts next year, once the drafting of the new constitution is done.

Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, who is also defence minister, echoed the same view. "If everything goes out as planned and if the constitution is ready, we think elections will be held in 2016," he said.

Meanwhile, Sommai said no date had been set for lifting martial law as "it's something that he [the Prime Minister] needs as a tool to deal with security".

Prawit said the government could deal with the fact that some groups were still opposed to the junta and its government, but it was necessary to suspend all political activities. "We will do everything as democratically as possible. We [the junta] have not suppressed anyone. We just ask people to suspend political activities and wait for us to solve problems and lay down a strong foundation for the country.

"It will only take a year. That's not too long. They can wait," he said, referring to academics calling for the martial law to be relaxed.

In a related development, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday suggested that a public referendum be held on the new constitution in order to boost its legitimacy and sustainability. He told the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) at a meeting in Parliament that the provisional charter should be amended to require a referendum on the constitution's final draft.

Charter legitimacy

He urged National Reform Council president Thienchai Kirananda or CDC chairman Borwornsak Uwanno to ask Prayut, as chief of the National Council for Peace and Order, to allow the necessary charter change.

Abhisit also said that eligible voters should be asked if they preferred a new constitution drafted by the CDC or if they were happy with the 2007 charter. He said this would motivate the drafters into writing a better charter.

In his document submitted to the CDC yesterday, Abhisit said that with majority support from voters, the new charter would gain strong legitimacy, which would make it difficult for politicians to amend it in the future.

The Army imposed martial law two days before the May 22 coup. The law bans all political gatherings, allows the detention of dissidents for up to seven days without charge and allows ordinary citizens to be tried in a military court. Prayut has been insisting that martial law is necessary.

Meanwhile, the anti-coup sentiment is still strong among some Thais, even though it has been six months since the coup. In his first visit to the Northeast, which is a stronghold of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Prayut himself witnessed protests by students.

The government has set up forums to gather students' opinions on political reform. Education Ministry permanent secretary Suthasri Wongsamarn said all students should exercise their right and attend these, adding that universities would be urged to encourage their students to participate.

She added that the ministry would not force the students, but she said those expressing political views and joining movements should also see if the location and timing of the protest are appropriate.

She also urged protesting students to think of the majority's benefits and said they should consider the end result for society rather than focusing on the means.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Elections-unlikely-before-2016-30248742.html


-- The Nation 2014-11-28

[RustBucket]

Expect this to be pushed back even further well into 2017 and possibly beyond.

Now with the Junta also blocking Human Rights Watch website to boot. It is becoming more and more obvious that this is not about the Thai people and the country. This is all about the people in charge.

This is a power trip going haywire, and expect reactions from the west very soon.

The Thai people may put up with this behaviour, but the west certainly won't and this Junta will find out eventually that it is going to hurt.

[canuckamuck]

It's the only way the elite can rule anymore and hardly anyone seems to care.

If they ever do bring elections back, it will be because they have fixed the game to eliminate any chance of genuine people power.

[empireboy]

When the issues are addressed that create and maintain the present INEQUALITY in education, opportunity, status, location, and so much more are addressed, as well as the clamp-down on corruption in high places, THEN Thailand could become a great nation.... It's going to be a challenge and there's no quick fix I fear.

[whybother]

Expect this to be pushed back even further well into 2017 and possibly beyond.

Now with the Junta also blocking Human Rights Watch website to boot. It is becoming more and more obvious that this is not about the Thai people and the country. This is all about the people in charge.

This is a power trip going haywire, and expect reactions from the west very soon.

The Thai people may put up with this behaviour, but the west certainly won't and this Junta will find out eventually that it is going to hurt.

The HRW website is still available.

[NongKhaiKid]

Interesting to note BBC World TV is giving LoS a lot of coverage leading up to the weekend business programme which with include the interview with the Finance Minister.

Today Jonathan Head is using phrases like ' government jittery ' and ' bizarre censorship ' plus interviews with various activists that will not please the PM.

It won't matter if the Beeb is banned or blocked here as these reports are being seen around the world.

[trianglechoke]

They need time to import the electronic election fixing technology the USA uses

[whybother]

They need time to import the electronic election fixing technology the USA uses

It doesn't work there, so they're sure to bring it here for it not to work.

Edited November 28, 2014 by whybother

[Stradavarius37]

Sad, my mother in law was counting on that PTP 500 baht vote buy to help her buy her new motorsai...

[Anthony5]

Elections 'unlikely before 2016'

The Nation,

Agence France-Presse

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha shakes hands with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung, right.

Good to see that Thailand now has a first lady already. Never knew before that PM's of Thailand took their spouse on official trips.

[Asiantravel]

Interesting to note BBC World TV is giving LoS a lot of coverage leading up to the weekend business programme which with include the interview with the Finance Minister.

Today Jonathan Head is using phrases like ' government jittery ' and ' bizarre censorship ' plus interviews with various activists that will not please the PM.

It won't matter if the Beeb is banned or blocked here as these reports are being seen around the world.

That's why I quickly went to see the latest Hunger Games movie in case they ban it totally in all cinemas

Edited November 28, 2014 by Asiantravel

[Lovekorat]

So martial law cannot be lifted because "it is a tool for the PM to maintain order" like he couldn't lift it with a proviso that it could be re-instated if necessary? Would that have shown goodwill to the people?

So the PM doesn't trust the people he is supposed to be representing?

We rich people know what we are doing you poor people do what you are told! (Or else)

How very sad.

And now the Human Rights Watch page has been blocked in Thailand because they happened to make disparaging remarks about the way things are going?

Elections delayed.

We wonder what is next.

And so it begins............

[whybother]

Good to see that Thailand now has a first lady already. Never knew before that PM's of Thailand took their spouse on official trips.

It's normal, the world over, for spouses to travel with PM's/Presidents on overseas trips.

[Anthony5]

Good to see that Thailand now has a first lady already. Never knew before that PM's of Thailand took their spouse on official trips.

It's normal, the world over, for spouses to travel with PM's/Presidents on overseas trips.

Strange but never seen Yinglucks or Abhisit's spouse in any official pictures from trips abroad, but of course I see the wife of the President of the US.

I think Mr Happiness is just a bit full of himself.

Edited November 28, 2014 by Anthony5

[heybruce]

I described the present, and you didn't recognize it. I also suggested one of many sources where you could educate yourself on the difference between the 2006 and 2014 coup. As I noted before, you don't read much, do you?

From everything I know about 2006, it was no different to now.

How do you think it was different?

Still not reading, are you? Or are you in denial of reality? As I noted before, now we have:

Martial law with no end in sight, much more censorship and restrictions on free speech and assembly, detentions without charge or any rights, no sense of urgency in writing the new constitution or scheduling elections, etc.

This wasn't the case after the 2006 coup.

[whybother]

I described the present, and you didn't recognize it. I also suggested one of many sources where you could educate yourself on the difference between the 2006 and 2014 coup. As I noted before, you don't read much, do you?

From everything I know about 2006, it was no different to now.

How do you think it was different?

Still not reading, are you? Or are you in denial of reality? As I noted before, now we have:

Martial law with no end in sight, much more censorship and restrictions on free speech and assembly, detentions without charge or any rights, no sense of urgency in writing the new constitution or scheduling elections, etc.

This wasn't the case after the 2006 coup.

I think you're the one that needs to read more. In 2006 there were detentions, censorship, and the same issues with writing a new constitution.

[Ricardo]

So martial law cannot be lifted because "it is a tool for the PM to maintain order" like he couldn't lift it with a proviso that it could be re-instated if necessary? Would that have shown goodwill to the people?

So the PM doesn't trust the people he is supposed to be representing?

We rich people know what we are doing you poor people do what you are told! (Or else)

How very sad.

And now the Human Rights Watch page has been blocked in Thailand because they happened to make disparaging remarks about the way things are going?

Elections delayed.

We wonder what is next.

And so it begins............

"And now the Human Rights Watch page has been blocked in Thailand"

Except that, as Whybother said a few posts back, it's not blocked at all, I just loaded it without any difficulty.

[yellowboat]

Sadly watched the sit-ins and the parades to oust Yinluck. Wonder if there is any regret from those who were tools of the coup ? Coups are failures. It is looking like this one will last a long time and make matters worse.

[robblok]

Sadly watched the sit-ins and the parades to oust Yinluck. Wonder if there is any regret from those who were tools of the coup ? Coups are failures. It is looking like this one will last a long time and make matters worse.

The people that i spoke with are still happy the corrupt PTP is gone. Though they like me dont agree with everything the junta now does.

But that is quite normal.