NLA sets up committee to review law on political parties

[snoop1130]

NLA sets up committee to review law on political parties

By The Nation 

 

NLA Vice President Surachai, expected to sit on the joint law review committee.

 

The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Thursday set up a joint committee to review the organic law on political parties after concerns were raised by the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) that some provisions might be unconstitutional.
 

The joint committee comprising 11 members from the NLA, the CDC, and the Election Commission (EC), would convene for the first time next Tuesday. They have 15 days to amend the embattled law to be in line with the Constitution.

 

The NLA had passed the law last month, but according to the Constitution, relevant agencies can petition against it if they find any clauses to be unconstitutional.

The CDC, responsible for drafting the original bill, had raised five points in the bill that could violate the Constitution.

 

The CDC said enactment of the bill must take into consideration another organic law concerning reforms required by the new charter. This was so that it could meet the spirit of the charter to make political parties more accountable and participatory.

 

However, the primary voting system introduced in the bill, which required parties to conduct internal poll in determining constituency candidates, could leave a loophole for committing fraud. The CDC said that it might be against the Constitution, which intends to eliminate all forms of corruption.

 

It also said that listing of party leaders as first party-list MPs would limit their chance to contest constituencies, thus removing their political rights and violating the charter.

 

Also, it said that insisting parties have no fewer than 50 members in areas without branches or representatives before primary voting could be held was equivalent to eliminating the chances of parties without so many members. This would affect the charter’s principle of making all voices meaningful in elections.

 

The CDC said that the organic law might promote inequality between major and small political parties since not all of them could afford to set up branches and hold primary elections. This would potentially violate the charter by being partial to a group.

 

The organic law on political parties is one of the four priority legislations necessary for organising an election expected to take place next year after years of military ruling.

 

After the NLA passed the bill last month, it met with strong criticism regarding its practicality, given the new voting system and the limited time.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30321302

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-7-20

[YetAnother]

14 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

The CDC, responsible for drafting the original bill, had raised five points in the bill that could violate the Constitution.

well that should be enough; remarkable that lawyer advisors could not see this coming; perhaps there were none; then the primary parties deserve whatever foolishness comes of this;

[YetAnother]

what the rulers really want is to dissolve the political parties; trouble is they are too large and have some backing to create trouble; so the best they can do for the moment is to  try to defang them

[Srikcir]

The junta-appointed NLA passes law without regard to their constitutionality.

Why is anyone surprised?

 

Whether the new election laws directed towards membership in large political groups, finances of small political parties, and representation of medium and small political parties, they are only the symptoms of a larger issue created by the new charter.

 

The charter requires a Mixed Member Apportionment (MMA) electoral system. This system has no precedence anywhere else in the world and is unique to Thailand. The MMA made changes in the proportions of constituency candidates and party-list ones with the aim to allegedly make every vote meaningful. Academics were concerned that it would lead to formation of a coalition government that would be weak, unstable and dysfunctional. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/MMA-challenges-fairness-of-elections-30272058.html

Just perfect for a coup-minded military.

[sandemara]

Consider how heavily the Thai military has been involved in national politics - and for how long (50 coups in 30 years or some other ridiculous figure).

Isn't it about time the country acknowledged reality and declared the Military a political party. They would have to have outlasted any other.

I wonder what the secret of their success has been in capturing the hearts and minds of a dsicerning Thai electorate?