Joint committee in deadlock on primary voting system

[webfact]

Joint committee in deadlock on primary voting system

By Kasamakorn Chanwanpen 
The Nation

 

BANGKOK: -- The joint committee reviewing the organic law on regulations of political parties had not settled on the revision of the controversial primary voting system but expected the bill could enter the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) this Thursday.

The bill is the second of 10 bills to be written to accompany the new Constitution, which has passed the NLA.

 

However, the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) which had been responsible for writing the original draft objected to some clauses related to the primary voting system. They were concerned that the clauses violated the intent of the Constitution.

 

The CDC argued that the full version of the sections dealing with internal election of political party candidates could be unconstitutional for at least five reasons. Among them were questions of transparency, which could pave way for possible fraud, and the difficulties posed in the event that local branches of parties could not meet the requirement for 50 members to be present to determine and field a constituency candidate, which could violate a basic political right supported by the charter.

 

Udom Rathamarit, the, CDC spokesman, said Monday that the joint committee, composed of members of the CDC, NLA, and Electoral Commission, had only agreed on one point, which was to allow the leader of a party to run as a constituency candidate.

 

Other controversial clauses, he said, were sent back to the CDC for reconsideration. The joint committee would convene again Tuesday to try to reach mutual agreement on those controversial points, he said.

 

They hoped to table the bill in the NLA meeting this Thursday, Udom said, after being granted 15 days to make the clauses align with the Constitution.

 

If two-thirds of members of the NLA at the meeting voted down the revised draft, the version passed last month would be submitted to the Cabinet.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30322384

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-08-01

[SABloke]

CDC, NLA, EC, NCPO etc etc  The same people sitting  on all these bodies (and let's not forget the committees that meet and 'oversee' things. I used to kind of know what was potting in the "official story", but even I am starting to lose track of who is doing and why. (I know the real "why?", but thought they'd do a better job trying to look sincere about elections etc.) 

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

the version passed last month would be submitted to the Cabinet.

So any potential unconstitutional issues will "go away."

Convenient.

[edwinchester]

It's almost a year since the constitutional referendum, maybe they should hold another vote as there has been so many significant changes and flip flops since then.

[sandemara]

Coups occur regularly. This theft of democracy - dumping any government that Thai citizens voted for - isn't likely to arouse the general populace's interest or concern for any cockamamie system that's imposed on them.

How many Thais believe their vote has any value?