Party-list MPs should be scrapped: Seri

[rooster59]

Party-list MPs should be scrapped: Seri

BANGKOK: List of 'party fat cats' has become a source of corruption, reformer says

THE National Reform Steering Council (NRSC) panel on political reform will suggest that the charter drafters drop party-list MPs and design a voting system with larger constituencies, its chairman Seri Suwanpanon said yesterday.

The subcommittee is due to meet members of the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) tomorrow to submit its proposal - aimed at curbing vote-buying and electoral fraud, Seri said.

"First of all, party-list MPs should be abolished and we should only have constituency representatives because we have lost the spirit of the 1997 Constitution," he said.

He added that, "Originally, the party-list was for decent, capable people who were not very good at running elections to become MPs. But later, it has turned out to be a list of fat cats aspiring to be ministers. It became a merchandise."

It was a source of corruption, he said. Individuals who had invested wanted to gain profit from having a political position, Seri said. So, the party-list MPs should be scrapped, he said.

Another proposal would be that electorates cover a larger geographic area, he said. It could be that one province was one constituency like how the Senate election was in 2000, he explained.

Each eligible voter could cast a ballot for one representative, as per the 'One man, one vote' system, Seri said. This would make vote-buying tougher than the 'One constituency, one representative' system, he said.

"In a bigger electorate, the competition would not be as fierce as in a small one. The so-called 'One man, one vote' system would give underdog runners a better chance of gaining an MP seat. Also, no ballots would go in vain. Each group could have their man become an MP," he said. This system would also yield a better chance of reconciliation because no party could monopolise an electorate.

"This way, Pheu Thai Party could win an election in the south. The Democrat Party could as well win in the Northeast," the chairman of the NRSC panel on political reform said.

However, he stressed that these were only ideas of his panel that would be presented to the CDC. It was not predetermined that the drafters must accept these proposal as they could cause a conflict, he said, adding that a lot of thought needed to be directed at serious punishment to counter electoral fraud.

In a related development, CDC spokesman Chartchai Na Chiangmai also revealed that the drafting panel had set up a subcommittee to study reform issues - to look at approaches as well as the details concerning reforms planned and put forward by the now-defunct National Reform Council, as well as the NRSC.

The panel would work to figure out how the reform agenda should be written into the charter draft to ensure the NRC's and NRSC's plans were completed and inclusive.

However, drafter Udom Rathamarut said that personally he felt the new charter draft should include only crucial reform points. They should also consider how the plan would affect the political systems, as well as how to make sure the charter was well respected as a supreme law.

Udom stressed that considering all the reform agenda involved fairness and disparity. The CDC had to look at the agencies enforcing the law. If they had problems, then the reforms would not be carried out well, he said.

However, he said the drafters would work to make sure they could work. And they would try not to set up new agencies.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Party-list-MPs-should-be-scrapped-Seri-30273476.html

-- The Nation 2015-11-22

[halloween]

At last, someone prepared to state what the party list has become, a vehicle for the wealthy to buy power, install unelectable scum to high office, and reward criminal cronies.

[shirtless]

It is certainly one big party for those on the list,

[Prbkk]

They'll engage in whatever jiggery-pokery is necessary to keep the elite in control and to defy the will of the people.

[WhizBang]

YES Agree 100%

I have been saying get rid of the 'party list' for a long time as all it is is a source of corruption and corrupt individuals. Let's hope this concept gains traction. Wanna bet the parties, especially the PTP, fight this tooth and nail.

[worgeordie]

Lets hope it gets scrapped,its undemocratic,lets unelected

people into power,just because they have helped the party

with donations,so its vote buying in a different way,and you

can be sure they will be there to recoup any expenses they

have paid out.multi fold.

regards Worgeordie

[chainarong]

As it was said along time back when Thailand's parliament sits it looks more like a Chamber of Commerce meeting than a parliament , the unusual part of this is that in Western Democracy very few businessmen sit for parliament seats and when they do they find the checks and balances are very restrictive in what they can achieve for their own personal, gain and in general make poor politicians , in Thailand the checks and balances are just not there , and that is the case for the party list , if it had been enacted with proper safeguards, rules and checks and balances businessmen possibly wouldn't run for parliament, how can you have a parliamentarian being released from prison while Parliament is sitting on Bail, there is nothing here that suggests the other system will be any better as they are rearranging the deck chairs but still conveniently leave out the checks and balances...........................................

[Tatsujin]

I'll await Pheu Thai's announcement tomoro that this is undemocratic and unfair on the people.

[jalansanitwong]

The main reason why politicans bother to turn up in parliament is so they can attend as many meetings as possible and get paid 5000 b per meeting.If you can attend 10 meetings per month thats another 50k in the pocket. Nice little earner!

I once saw ( tv) a Thai politician sitting in the parliament looking at a gemstone with a loupe.

Back in the nineties it was very popular for the media to label a politican as ...'unusually rich'. A young polie accused a politican and his family of being unusually rich and a fight broke out ending with the young guy fleeing the parliament under an avalanche of insults and threats......never to be seen again no doubt.

This is Asia.

[thelonius]

I'll await Pheu Thai's announcement tomoro that this is undemocratic and unfair on the people.

Why would they do so any more than the Democrat party would? You obviously don’t remember (or choose to ignore) but the increase in Party List seats from 100 to 125 was due to a constitutional amendment made by Abhisit just before the 2011 Election. He didn’t do it for the sake of the country, he did it to try and create the conditions necessary for the Democrat Party to win as these two analyses explain.

The amendment also means the number of members of parliament who are elected directly (personally) by their constituency (called constituency-based members of parliament) will shrink from 400 to 375, while the number of lawmakers who are elected according to their party's overall electoral success and candidate priorities (party-list parliamentarians) will rise from 100 to 125. This change was demanded by the ruling Democrat Party — as a major party, the Democrats benefit from an enlarged party-list section.

It also weakens the opposition Puea Thai Party, which prefers constituency seats, whether because its candidates have popular appeal in their districts or because the party has superior funding, bribing and door-to-door campaigning techniques. Also, 16 of the constituency-based seats that will be eliminated are located in the north and northeast dominated by the Puea Thai Party, whereas only eight constituency-based seats will be removed from southern and central Thailand, where the Democrat Party is strongest.

These electoral changes, meant to benefit the Democrat Party and its coalition partners, now pave the way for party leader Abhisit to call for new elections.

https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/constitutional-change-and-coming-elections-thailand

The nearly 60% increase in the number of party-list seats is set to benefit large, well-established parties, which in this case include only the Democrats and Pheua Thai. Smaller parties that rest largely on their leaders’ personal networks or reputation, such as Purachai’s Rak Santi Party, Chart Thai Pattana of the Silapa-Acha family or General Sonthi’s Matubhumi Party, are likely to do well in the constituency system, especially in each leader’s district.

But voters tend to vote for major parties, who they believe should be forming the government, in the party-list system. It’s no wonder that when the Democrats proposed a change in the number of party-list seats earlier this year, Abhisit’s already shaky coalition nearly collapsed as all the coalition partners opposed the change.

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2011/05/30/thailands-electoral-rules/

The Democrats stand to lose more by this decision than the PTP. The Party List constitutional change didn’t work for the Dems and their backers, so if in doubt, rely on a coup, a compliant CDC and the resulting manipulated constitution to ensure the “right” people are in power.

[Eric Loh]

YES Agree 100%

I have been saying get rid of the 'party list' for a long time as all it is is a source of corruption and corrupt individuals. Let's hope this concept gains traction. Wanna bet the parties, especially the PTP, fight this tooth and nail.

WHY?? PTP did not write the rules for party list. They just follow the rule amended by the Dem Party to increase the quota for party list. The Dem Party mis-calculate that move which back fired on them big time. That seem the reason for Seri to scrapped party list as it did not benefit the Dem Party.

[billd766]

YES Agree 100%

I have been saying get rid of the 'party list' for a long time as all it is is a source of corruption and corrupt individuals. Let's hope this concept gains traction. Wanna bet the parties, especially the PTP, fight this tooth and nail.

Me too.

NO party list MPs would mean that people like Yingluck, Nattawut and Jatuporn from the PTP/UDD and Abhisit, Korn, Suthep from the Democrats, Banharn from the Chart Thai Pattana et al would HAVE to be elected by a constituency and not just be nominated for a post.

Another suggestion could be that ALL Ministers are existing MPs and HAVE to retain the constituency seat as well as be a minister as would the PM. No substitutes allowed.

If an MP wants to change parties during the course of parliament, that would be allowed BUT the MP would have to personally pay the total cost for the bye election. If he lost the seat to an opposition MP he cannot stand again until the next general election.

And IMHO the most important has to be NO parliamentary immunity from criminal charges during the time that parliament is still in session.

[jesimps]

Anything which makes it difficult for me and my mates to hold power should be scrapped: Seri.

[candide]

I am not sure I understand the system they propose instead. Do you?

[Srikcir]

"design a voting system with larger constituencies"

Does this mean the MMA system that was designed for smaller constituences is out?

The MMP used in prior constitutions designed for large constituencies was already rejected by Meechai's CDC.

All that's left, putting aside more experimental systems by the junta, is the republic system that is designed for very large party constituencies (ie., 2-4 political parties) but not very appropriate to a constitutional monarchy. It appears the junta is struggling how to guarantee an electoral fix that excludes a majority rule without a continuing suppression of the Thai electorate.

[halloween]

They'll engage in whatever jiggery-pokery is necessary to keep the elite in control and to defy the will of the people.

So how does having every MP directly elected keep the elite in control and defy the will of the people?

[halloween]

"design a voting system with larger constituencies"

Does this mean the MMA system that was designed for smaller constituences is out?

The MMP used in prior constitutions designed for large constituencies was already rejected by Meechai's CDC.

All that's left, putting aside more experimental systems by the junta, is the republic system that is designed for very large party constituencies (ie., 2-4 political parties) but not very appropriate to a constitutional monarchy. It appears the junta is struggling how to guarantee an electoral fix that excludes a majority rule without a continuing suppression of the Thai electorate.

Gee, "..very large party constituencies (ie., 2-4 political parties) but not very appropriate to a constitutional monarchy." Really?

Seems to work fine in Oz. The only real effect of larger constituencies is LESS POLITICIANS, decreasing the cost of government and making individual scrutiny of MPs easier.

[englishoak]

They'll engage in whatever jiggery-pokery is necessary to keep the elite in control and to defy the will of the people.

So how does having every MP directly elected keep the elite in control and defy the will of the people?

Easy they have the military stage a coup every few years just as they do now.

As long as the military is not subservient and under the complete control of civillain rule things will not change much for the average somchai in Thailand.

Isnt going to happen in my lifetime.