Thai PM candidates must be listed before polls, CDC panel says

[webfact]

PM candidates must be listed before polls, CDC panel says
KASAMAKORN CHANWANPEN
THE NATION

AIM IS TO ENSURE PEOPLE KNOW WHO THEY WILL BE ELECTING WHEN CASTING BALLOT

BANGKOK: -- A CHARTER drafter's sub-panel proposed yesterday that political parties must submit the names of their prime minister candidates during an election campaign in order to give voters a clear idea of who would lead the country if the party won the election.

This would give voters prior notice of who would become the premier after parliament is established, Supachai Yavaprabhas said to the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) yesterday, representing the subcommittee studying executive structure of which he is the first vice chairman.

The list, consisting of one to five candidates registered with the Election Commission, would also be the source for picking a new PM should the country go through a political crisis, he proposed.

Some of the CDC members agreed with the proposal. A CDC member said the PM candidate list was like indirectly electing the PM. He added that the list would prevent parties from selecting any prime minister candidate at will without prior notice to the voters.

"This will help voters to consider carefully before casting their ballots. Now you [voters] cast only one vote for a constituency MP, party's popularity, and a PM," he said.

Different parties could propose the same names for voters to consider, the CDC said. When small parties have the same eminent names on the list as big ones, it would be recognisable to voters that they were nominee parties, Supachai said, stressing it was an upside of the method.

The commission also discussed public concerns over a non-MP prime minister. A high-profile CDC member suggested that people should get over that or the country wouldn't go anywhere. He implied that it was never a necessity or a strict requirement that the government head be selected from the MPs. A couple of drafters supported the same idea, explaining the premier would be voted by the House of Representatives anyhow.

It was not imperative that the prime minister be an MP, they said, elaborating that in Thailand such a notion became prominent and grew out of the public distrust. In 1992, an outsider was elected by MPs to become the prime minister, they said. The constitutions following that, consequently, stipulated out of the lack of faith that PM must come from among MPs to prevent a similar crisis, they explained.

In principle, it was perfectly acceptable to have a non-MP prime minister, they stressed.

A CDC member remarked further that the proposed method not requiring an MP to be the premier should also go well with the Mixed Member Apportionment (MMA) electoral system.

Under the MMA system, a party might not have party-list MPs if it already had constituency MPs proportional to its popularity calculated when usually the PM was the first name on the party-list. The new PM selection method could be a solution to such a possibility, a drafter said.

The advocates also said that this method would take Thai democracy to a whole new level as voters would know who the potential PM is before casting their ballots. However, Supachai, who was a political scientist from Chulalongkorn University, pointed out its originality could be a possible weakness of such a PM selection because people might be confused.

Involved agencies would have to work hard to create understanding among the public, he said, adding it was quite similar to the party-list system where it was widely understood the first person on the list was the potential prime minister.

Besides, each party must have the consent of those they put on the list. A CDC member raised the point that small parties might be at a disadvantage when they were incapable of recruiting eminent figures for the PM candidate.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/PM-candidates-must-be-listed-before-polls-CDC-pane-30272735.html


-- The Nation 2015-11-12

[tbthailand]

hmmm, like anyone thought that either Mark or Yingluck would not have been the PM?

The main topic is a non-starter, but they took the occasion to reinforce a cornerstone of the Junta constitution which will allow the generals to make sure that their man is the PM ....

The commission also discussed public concerns over a non-MP prime minister. A high-profile CDC member suggested that people should get over that or the country wouldn't go anywhere.

Yes, the "people" just need to fall in line and swallow the crap being dished up by yet another elite/military junta .... that is the way it has always been, that is the way it must be in the future.

Don't these silly little Thai citizens know their place?

[Srikcir]

“AIM IS TO ENSURE PEOPLE KNOW WHO THEY WILL BE ELECTING WHEN CASTING BALLOT”

One of the few upsides of the MMA was that the votes are transferrable from the candidates to the party. The Nation 2015-11-02

Thus, under the MMA system it is not required to submit the names of their prime minister candidates during an election campaign. The MMA does not give voters a clear idea of who would lead the country if the party won the election.

MMA is already without precedent, unique and not used anywhere else in the world. But now the CDC wants to essentially alter it further with a declared PM candidate.

CDC needs a new term for the latest electoral system it proposes because it’s not the original proposed MMA system. Maybe something like the Mixed Military Apportionment System (still MMA) or Really Mixed Member Apportionment System.

[FangFerang]

Another topic the junta cheerleaders will avoid like the plague.....

It makes it easy, though, for charges to be laid against the leading candidates, disqualifying them beforehand. And oh, just a coincidence the opposition listed candidates are the only ones left...so there you have it.

Edited November 12, 2015 by FangFerang

[thelonius]

hmmm, like anyone thought that either Mark or Yingluck would not have been the PM?

The main topic is a non-starter, but they took the occasion to reinforce a cornerstone of the Junta constitution which will allow the generals to make sure that their man is the PM ....

The commission also discussed public concerns over a non-MP prime minister. A high-profile CDC member suggested that people should get over that or the country wouldn't go anywhere.

Yes, the "people" just need to fall in line and swallow the crap being dished up by yet another elite/military junta .... that is the way it has always been, that is the way it must be in the future.

Don't these silly little Thai citizens know their place?

Does this mean that the Military will have to register the names of potential PM's with the EC in advance of their next coup? Just a thought...........................

[billd766]

hmmm, like anyone thought that either Mark or Yingluck would not have been the PM?

The main topic is a non-starter, but they took the occasion to reinforce a cornerstone of the Junta constitution which will allow the generals to make sure that their man is the PM ....

The commission also discussed public concerns over a non-MP prime minister. A high-profile CDC member suggested that people should get over that or the country wouldn't go anywhere.

Yes, the "people" just need to fall in line and swallow the crap being dished up by yet another elite/military junta .... that is the way it has always been, that is the way it must be in the future.

Don't these silly little Thai citizens know their place?

The difference between Abhisit and Yingluck is that Abhisit had been a politician since 1992 and had practical experience of politics.

Yingluck was selected on her name only and had no practical experience of politics at all. She had to rely on the advice (good or bad) of her advisors and her brother.

[candide]

This is completely incoherent!, On the one hand they propose this list in order to avoid an unexpected pm to be chosen, but they also propose that an unelected pm can be chosen too.

[Baerboxer]

hmmm, like anyone thought that either Mark or Yingluck would not have been the PM?

The main topic is a non-starter, but they took the occasion to reinforce a cornerstone of the Junta constitution which will allow the generals to make sure that their man is the PM ....

The commission also discussed public concerns over a non-MP prime minister. A high-profile CDC member suggested that people should get over that or the country wouldn't go anywhere.

Yes, the "people" just need to fall in line and swallow the crap being dished up by yet another elite/military junta .... that is the way it has always been, that is the way it must be in the future.

Don't these silly little Thai citizens know their place?

The difference between Abhisit and Yingluck is that Abhisit had been a politician since 1992 and had practical experience of politics.

Yingluck was selected on her name only and had no practical experience of politics at all. She had to rely on the advice (good or bad) of her advisors and her brother.

You are too generous Bild. She was selected as a nice pretty puppet who would do whatever her brother instructed.

He did try to shield her by keeping her away from parliament. the rice committees she should chair, going South as Defense Minster, and getting her out of the country as much as possible.

Unfortunately the "I was away and know nothing, did nothing, and attended nothing" defense seems a bit useless when the charge is negligence.

[billd766]

hmmm, like anyone thought that either Mark or Yingluck would not have been the PM?

The main topic is a non-starter, but they took the occasion to reinforce a cornerstone of the Junta constitution which will allow the generals to make sure that their man is the PM ....

The commission also discussed public concerns over a non-MP prime minister. A high-profile CDC member suggested that people should get over that or the country wouldn't go anywhere.

Yes, the "people" just need to fall in line and swallow the crap being dished up by yet another elite/military junta .... that is the way it has always been, that is the way it must be in the future.

Don't these silly little Thai citizens know their place?

The difference between Abhisit and Yingluck is that Abhisit had been a politician since 1992 and had practical experience of politics.

Yingluck was selected on her name only and had no practical experience of politics at all. She had to rely on the advice (good or bad) of her advisors and her brother.

You are too generous Bild. She was selected as a nice pretty puppet who would do whatever her brother instructed.

He did try to shield her by keeping her away from parliament. the rice committees she should chair, going South as Defense Minster, and getting her out of the country as much as possible.

Unfortunately the "I was away and know nothing, did nothing, and attended nothing" defense seems a bit useless when the charge is negligence.

That is why I didn't make any comment at all.

Just the facts Ma'am as Joe Friday used to say.

[phoenixdoglover]

This iteration of the CDC is "totally in the bag" for the Junta.

The PM should be selected from the elected MPs. Simple. No ambiguity. And sufficient.

For those who want an election to mean something.

Edited November 13, 2015 by phoenixdoglover