Pheu Thai asks for draft that respects global norms
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- THE PHEU THAI PARTY yesterday put forward suggestions on the new charter to the drafters. It asked them to write the draft in line with international norms, with a new charter written after the next election.

The letter, signed by Pheu Thai leader Pol Lt-General Viroj Pao-in and submitted to the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC), proposed that the CDC write a constitution which specified that sovereignty belonged to the people, adding that voters should have the right to decide on all forms of elections and other participatory democracy such as referendums, the initiation of draft constitutions and bills.

Organisations exercising power under the constitution - such as the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, the Judiciary Branch or independent bodies - must come from, and be associated and linked to the people, it said.

The letter went on to say that the constitution should be in line with "Thainess" and should amalgamate and integrate all lessons learned from drafting constitutions during the past 83-years. Any contradictions with international democratic principles must be avoided. It added that the prime minister must be elected, the president of the House of Representatives should be the president of the National Assembly, and that members of Parliament must belong to political parties.

The letter said the relationships between the constitutional organisations must be managed methodically with balance, responsibility and accountability.

"Do not allow any organisations to be more powerful than others or become the constitution themselves, or weaken the executive branch's ability to perform its duties and thereby make it ineffective," it said.

The party also urged the CDC to write a draft that prohibited any amnesty for those who subvert the constitution or the monarchy, as was enshrined in the charter of 1974.

Moreover, it asked that the draft constitution stipulate that when an election is held within 180 days or one year, members of the Constitution Drafting Assembly must be directly elected to draft the new constitution within a reasonable period. Then the process must go through a referendum. If the draft is accepted, the constitution should be enforced and implemented, said the letter.

Penalising politicians or anyone else sentenced for misconduct or electoral fraud was reasonable, but it must be clear that each case occurred in the normal system and was not caused by actions related to the coup, the letter added. Persons deprived of their rights in this way must be lawfully prosecuted and must not be retrospectively punished, which would be contrary to the rule of law, it said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Pheu-Thai-asks-for-draft-that-respects-global-norm-30272210.html

-- The Nation 2015-11-04

Is there a global norm for corruption and vote buying?

What's the point in re-writing a constitution if there is a coup whenever the other side are not happy, who then decide to re-write the constitution again.

Round and round in circles....

Since when are there global norms? If there happen to be, doesn't matter as rest of globe is full of foreigners I hear.

Would they be happy with a Thai version of the Magna Carta ?

regards Worgeordie

PTP's proposed Constitution

1. Bring back Thaksin as PM

2. Throwing hand grenades is not a crime

3. Bring back Thaksin as PM

4. Government funding for vote-buying

5. Bring back Thaksin as PM

6. Eliminate corruption investigations

7. Bring back Thaksin as PM

8. Amnesty for all redshirts

9. Bring back Thaksin as PM

10. There is no #10.

The cheerleaders jump to the same baseless conclusions on both sides again.

Just because you say something a thousand times doesn't mean it becomes true, unless you subscribe to Truth According to Goebbels.

Winner-takes-all elections have been dysfunctional in the West for quite some time.

PTP's proposed Constitution

1. Bring back Thaksin as PM

2. Throwing hand grenades is not a crime

3. Bring back Thaksin as PM

4. Government funding for vote-buying

5. Bring back Thaksin as PM

6. Eliminate corruption investigations

7. Bring back Thaksin as PM

8. Amnesty for all redshirts

9. Bring back Thaksin as PM

10. There is no #10.

Here we go, same old, same old. Rather than me wasting time and effort rebutting the usual suspects rant above why don't you put forward some rational reasons why you think that the the PTP's ideas for a constitution as outlined above are so heinous? It appears to me to be a call for a constitution similar to the 1997 one, you know, the one that was ripped up after the last military coup intervention

Is there a global norm for corruption and vote buying?

Lets ask Mr. "Democracy is not my goal".

I wouldn't say "respecting global norms" or "international standards" but rather recognize that the supreme power of the state belongs to all of its citizens.

But the new CDC has decided that there is no existing constitution in the world that can serve as a template for Thailand's constitution, including the electoral system. Even though there are over 45 viable constitutional monarchies in the world, including ten in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan is perhaps the most notable example that parallels Thailand's culture and heritage.

A common denominator in these constitutional monarchies is that the military supports and protects the people's sovereignty. When conflict arises, there are no military coups. In Thailand that kind of unrestrained civilian power runs counter to Thai culture and heritage that seems revered by the military since 1933.

Thai citizens have the "human right to self-determination." And if that conflicts with the military's own perceived sovereignty, the latter needs to conform. Without the military's unconditional respect for the people's sovereignty, democracy in Thailand in any form of goverance is merely a placeholder for military generosity.