Unelected Thai PM 'could rule for 8 years’

[webfact]

‘Unelected PM could rule for 8 years’

WASAMON AUDJARINT,
PRAPHAN JINDALERTUDOMDEE
THE NATION 

 

 

Critics wary court ruling will pave the way and many Thais may find it acceptable

 

BANGKOK: -- CRITICS YESTERDAY pointed out that the Constitutional Court ruling on Wednesday would make it easy for a non-MP to become prime minister for up to eight years after the next general election.

The ruling allows senators, who will be selected, to waive the list of prime ministerial candidates submitted by political parties.

Sukhum Nualsakul, a former rector of Ramkhamhaeng University, said it is obvious that an outsider can rule the country, though he admitted that many might find this acceptable as recent polls have shown most Thais are satisfied with General Prayut Chan-o-cha's work as premier. 

 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Unelected-PM-could-rule-for-8-years-30296546.html

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2016-09-30

[NongKhaiKid]

Polls have shown most Thais are satisfied with the PM's work as premier !

Ask the right questions of the right people and in the present atmosphere you'll get the results required.

Polls involving 1,000 - 2,000 people out of Thailand's eligible voters are of course completely accurate when they say exactly what you want.

Edited September 29, 2016 by NongKhaiKid

[waldroj]

‘Unelected PM could rule for 8 years’

 

I was under the impression that Thailand already had a much-loved Ruler who, according to Section 6 of the "people's" Constitution, shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated.

 

As for Thailand having an unelected PM for 8 years - there is absolutely nothing new in this "revelation"!

 

It was all there in the draft Constitution and the supplementary question that all those "informed" Thais voted to accept at the referendum.

 

Let me refresh your memories of the pertinent points:

• Section 99 The term of the House of Representatives shall be four years from the date of election.
• Section 109 The term of the Senate shall be five years as from the date of the announcement of the result of selection.
• Section 158 The Prime Minister shall not hold office for a total period of more than eight years, notwithstanding consecutively or not, and such period shall not count the period he or she continues to perform the duties after vacating office.
• Supplementary Question:

“Do you approve that for contributing continuity of the country reform according to the national strategic plan, it should be stipulated in the Transitory Provisions of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand that for the duration of 5 years from the first sitting of the National Assembly under this constitution; the joint sitting of the two chambers of the National Assembly shall convene to consider approving a person to be appointed as the Prime Ministry?”

 

So, as you can clearly see, under the Transitory Provisions that will be in place once the Constitution is promulgated, it will ensue that there will be two House of Reps elections during the term of the 250 Senators selected by the NCPO under Section 269.

 

But, of course, every Thai new this would be so, as the Preamble of the Constitution assures us that:

...In the implementation thereof, the Constitution Drafting Committee has built public awareness and understanding of the principles and justifications of all provisions on a periodic basis so as to provide the opportunities for the public to widely access the Draft Constitution and its explanations through a variety of media and to allow public participation in the development of the content of the Draft by providing recommendations on the revision it so requires. Upon completion, the Draft Constitution has been disseminated to the public with the summary of explanations on its essence in a manner which enables the public to easily and generally understand it, and has organized a referendum to approve the entire Draft Constitution...

 

 

[Alive]

The people will probably go onto the streets at some point if this happens and it is a military general.

[jerojero]

Or eight more years of military rule.

[jamesbrock]

Come on, who seriously didn't see this coming?

 

(Rhetorical question, as I know the four posters above me did...)

[DoctorG]

Thai democracy....  Unelected Senators selecting Unelected PM.  Nice one.

[klauskunkel]

time to rename the "Democracy Monument" to "Monument On How To Do Stuff And Get away With It"

[Kiwiken]

Democracy personified and in Action Thai style . Why you need elect a PM anyway not everyone will like them?

[jcsmith]

4 hours ago, Alive said:

The people will probably go onto the streets at some point if this happens and it is a military general.

Which will only open the door for the military to re-seize power and start the process all over again. 

[Lupatria]

The use of a common toast: "I drink to your health" should be banned in certain circles for once and for all.

[williamgeorgeallen]

2 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

And after 8 years we just have another coup with a new constitution and then another 11 years of juntas and dear great leaders and so the country goes on chasing its own tail.

 over the last 80 years there has been a coup on average every 4 years so this is a great step forward.

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, waldroj said:

Thailand already had a much-loved Ruler

Yes, as Head of State.

PM is Head of Government.

The Thai military owes its allegiance to the Head of State versus other well-known constitutional monarchies where the military owes its allegiance to the Government.

[Srikcir]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

an outsider can rule the country

Expat's - update your CV's !

[rijb]

5 hours ago, jerojero said:

Or eight more years of military rule.

 

and plundering.

[elgordo38]

5 hours ago, jamesbrock said:

Come on, who seriously didn't see this coming?

 

(Rhetorical question, as I know the four posters above me did...)

The poor and uninformed unwashed masses. When voting for the constitution it was like committing hari kari (lets just get this over with) The people looked into the rear view mirror and out of the windshield and did not like what they saw in either direction so they became a captive audience well for now anyways. 

[mania]

"Every nation gets the government it deserves"

 

The above quote attributed to the French philosopher & politician Joseph Marie de Maistre

is appropriate for Thailand

 

It will be up to the Thai people themselves

to either do something about this or accept that this is in fact the government they deserve.

[DM07]

After 8 years, Thai -people be "We voted for him...once....didn't we?!"

[performance]

10 hours ago, waldroj said:

‘Unelected PM could rule for 8 years’

 

I was under the impression that Thailand already had a much-loved Ruler who, according to Section 6 of the "people's" Constitution, shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated.

 

As for Thailand having an unelected PM for 8 years - there is absolutely nothing new in this "revelation"!

 

It was all there in the draft Constitution and the supplementary question that all those "informed" Thais voted to accept at the referendum.

 

Let me refresh your memories of the pertinent points:

• Section 99 The term of the House of Representatives shall be four years from the date of election.
• Section 109 The term of the Senate shall be five years as from the date of the announcement of the result of selection.
• Section 158 The Prime Minister shall not hold office for a total period of more than eight years, notwithstanding consecutively or not, and such period shall not count the period he or she continues to perform the duties after vacating office.
• Supplementary Question:

“Do you approve that for contributing continuity of the country reform according to the national strategic plan, it should be stipulated in the Transitory Provisions of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand that for the duration of 5 years from the first sitting of the National Assembly under this constitution; the joint sitting of the two chambers of the National Assembly shall convene to consider approving a person to be appointed as the Prime Ministry?”

 

So, as you can clearly see, under the Transitory Provisions that will be in place once the Constitution is promulgated, it will ensue that there will be two House of Reps elections during the term of the 250 Senators selected by the NCPO under Section 269.

 

But, of course, every Thai new this would be so, as the Preamble of the Constitution assures us that:

...In the implementation thereof, the Constitution Drafting Committee has built public awareness and understanding of the principles and justifications of all provisions on a periodic basis so as to provide the opportunities for the public to widely access the Draft Constitution and its explanations through a variety of media and to allow public participation in the development of the content of the Draft by providing recommendations on the revision it so requires. Upon completion, the Draft Constitution has been disseminated to the public with the summary of explanations on its essence in a manner which enables the public to easily and generally understand it, and has organized a referendum to approve the entire Draft Constitution...

 

 

Silly Thais sucker in by Green uniforms and minimal schooling. With no idea what so ever how to even remotely rectify simple human issues. Also not even caring or willing to..That 5 Rivers was all old broken down generals. Wanting to cage Thais with no Internet like animals. Dictating terms to benefit only themselves. 2 years has bared little fruit.

Edited September 30, 2016 by performance

[Grubster]

13 hours ago, waldroj said:

‘Unelected PM could rule for 8 years’

 

I was under the impression that Thailand already had a much-loved Ruler who, according to Section 6 of the "people's" Constitution, shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated.

 

As for Thailand having an unelected PM for 8 years - there is absolutely nothing new in this "revelation"!

 

It was all there in the draft Constitution and the supplementary question that all those "informed" Thais voted to accept at the referendum.

 

Let me refresh your memories of the pertinent points:

• Section 99 The term of the House of Representatives shall be four years from the date of election.
• Section 109 The term of the Senate shall be five years as from the date of the announcement of the result of selection.
• Section 158 The Prime Minister shall not hold office for a total period of more than eight years, notwithstanding consecutively or not, and such period shall not count the period he or she continues to perform the duties after vacating office.
• Supplementary Question:

“Do you approve that for contributing continuity of the country reform according to the national strategic plan, it should be stipulated in the Transitory Provisions of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand that for the duration of 5 years from the first sitting of the National Assembly under this constitution; the joint sitting of the two chambers of the National Assembly shall convene to consider approving a person to be appointed as the Prime Ministry?”

 

So, as you can clearly see, under the Transitory Provisions that will be in place once the Constitution is promulgated, it will ensue that there will be two House of Reps elections during the term of the 250 Senators selected by the NCPO under Section 269.

 

But, of course, every Thai new this would be so, as the Preamble of the Constitution assures us that:

...In the implementation thereof, the Constitution Drafting Committee has built public awareness and understanding of the principles and justifications of all provisions on a periodic basis so as to provide the opportunities for the public to widely access the Draft Constitution and its explanations through a variety of media and to allow public participation in the development of the content of the Draft by providing recommendations on the revision it so requires. Upon completion, the Draft Constitution has been disseminated to the public with the summary of explanations on its essence in a manner which enables the public to easily and generally understand it, and has organized a referendum to approve the entire Draft Constitution...

 

 

Representatives = result of election. Senate = date of selection.  I could easily see how one might miss the S on the latter. I would also guess at least 30% of the voters can't read and it was against the law for anyone to speak to them about it. So how informed were they?

[Grubster]

6 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

Not true.

 

The Head of the Thai Armed Forces  is the King however this position is only nominal. The armed forces are managed by the Ministry of Defense of Thailand, which is headed by the minister of defence (a Thai Cabinet minister).

Who does he work for?

[malagateddy]

Calm down lads, I'm a 65 year old Brit., and when I look back on some of the fairly recent  crackers that have been Prime Minister

 

Of Britain, eg, Blair, Brown and  Cameron to name but 3, ... I think everyone should just relax and enjoy.

[malagateddy]

Mr. Speakah, Mr. Speakah,  the right honourable Lady/Gentleman... yeh right...especially the moat-house man Jackie Smith etc etc.,

 

then you also have the has been refuge home, namely the house of lords...calm down lads, have a beer or 3, and enjoy your lifes.

[Srikcir]

7 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

The armed forces are managed by the Ministry of Defense of Thailand, which is headed by the minister of defence (a Thai Cabinet minister).

You're quoting Wikipedia.

The Mininster of Defense is led by a General (vs civilian) "commanded by the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters which in turn is headed by the Chief of the Defense Forces," who is also a General.

While Wikipedia says the Head of State as commander-in-chief of the RTA is only nominal, I'd say the position is highly influential to say the least.

8 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Not true.

What is true then?

Can't really be discussed in this forum other than to quote the 2016 draft Constitution: Chapter 2, Section 8 - "The King holds the position of Head of the Thai Armed Forces."

[MZurf]

Representatives = result of election. Senate = date of selection.  I could easily see how one might miss the S on the latter. I would also guess at least 30% of the voters can't read and it was against the law for anyone to speak to them about it. So how informed were they?

"So how informed were they?"

They were just as (un)informed as the junta wanted them to be.

[baboon]

5 hours ago, malagateddy said:

Calm down lads, I'm a 65 year old Brit., and when I look back on some of the fairly recent  crackers that have been Prime Minister

 

Of Britain, eg, Blair, Brown and  Cameron to name but 3, ... I think everyone should just relax and enjoy.

Indeed. Blair, Brown and Cameron were notorious for welding absolute executive power, use of military courts, stifling the press and holding referenda such as Brexit under threat of 10 years imprisonment for those who vocally opposed their position.

What complete and utter flapdoodle you are spouting. Go back to the drawing board. 

[tbthailand]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

CRITICS YESTERDAY pointed out that the Constitutional Court ruling on Wednesday would make it easy for a non-MP to become prime minister for up to eight years after the next general election.

 

and with at least 3 1/2 years in office before the next general election, that will give the "unelected PM" more than a decade in office, ... 

 

Now I only wonder how they plan to rig the system for the second half of his "20 year strategy"... 

[NongKhaiKid]

8 minutes ago, tbthailand said:

 

and with at least 3 1/2 years in office before the next general election, that will give the "unelected PM" more than a decade in office, ... 

 

Now I only wonder how they plan to rig the system for the second half of his "20 year strategy"... 

Now that's about the only example of forward planning they're ever really going to think about.

[malagateddy]

Dear Baboon,

 

Blair and Brown,...the oil grab/illegal war...Iraq, Cameron...Libya, getting rid of Gaddafi...wonderful ideas from dummies who had no thought

 

whatsoever re the consequences. Brexit, just WONDERFUL as far as I'm concerned.

[baboon]

7 minutes ago, malagateddy said:

Dear Baboon,

 

Blair and Brown,...the oil grab/illegal war...Iraq, Cameron...Libya, getting rid of Gaddafi...wonderful ideas from dummies who had no thought

 

whatsoever re the consequences. Brexit, just WONDERFUL as far as I'm concerned.

Wonderful ideas from dummies who had no thought, debated and approved by a democratically elected parliament. Those not in favour had the option to punish their MP at the ballot box. You are comparing apples with turnips.