"The People Power Party might push for a quick passage of constitutional amendments by three consecutive readings, coalition chief whip Witthaya Buranasiri said on Friday. The charter debate will be based recommendations by the House panel in charge of reviewing the enforcement of charter provisions, he said.
The proposed amendments will focus on selected provisions and not a complete rewrite, he said.
He expected the debate to begin soon after the completion of the House panel's report and not on August 18 as previously speculated. Witthaya's remarks coincided with the speculation that the prime minister might call a snap election in December."
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/08/15...cs_30080647.php
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PPP push for Charter changes
Started by Sexpat, Aug 15 2008 11:03 AM
1 reply to this topic
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Posted 15 August 2008 - 01:18 PM
Once again, it's a mad race to see whether the land mines that the junta left in place at the Election Commission and courts can effective paralyze the political process before Thaksin's PPP and coalition partners have the chance to amend the Constitution and get rid of the land mines.
Even assuming that the EC and courts are engaged in legitimate corruption busting, and not politics, the big danger if they succeed in throttling the legislative process is that Thailand could be left without an effective government to address the country's problems.
It's not hard to imagine what could happen if snap elections are called before year's end, with Thaksin as the central issue in the charge that the junta and its elite sponsors are still trying to cling to power by misusing the courts to paralyze the democratic process. If that kind of issue is squarely put to the voters, it's not hard to imagine Thaksin's party ( whatever it's called by then) returning to power with an enhanced majority capable of wiping the slate clean for Thaksin's eventual rehabilitation and return to power.
Bangkok's alliance of monarchists and elitists have one big problem: they show no capacity to ever win a parliamentary majority and govern Thailand through the ballot box. Remember, TRT under Thaksin and his populist policies, was the only party in Thai history to ever win an election with an outright majority in Parliament. It changed the map of Thailand and threatened to break the elites' stranglehold on the levers of power, in both government and the army.
Faced with the prospect of losing more elections, the old elite seems determined to sabotage the democratic process with a coup, followed by a government filled with land mines. They seem prepared to destroy democracy and populism if that's what it takes to destroy Thaksinism. Unfortunately, what could emerge is country with no effective government.
Even assuming that the EC and courts are engaged in legitimate corruption busting, and not politics, the big danger if they succeed in throttling the legislative process is that Thailand could be left without an effective government to address the country's problems.
It's not hard to imagine what could happen if snap elections are called before year's end, with Thaksin as the central issue in the charge that the junta and its elite sponsors are still trying to cling to power by misusing the courts to paralyze the democratic process. If that kind of issue is squarely put to the voters, it's not hard to imagine Thaksin's party ( whatever it's called by then) returning to power with an enhanced majority capable of wiping the slate clean for Thaksin's eventual rehabilitation and return to power.
Bangkok's alliance of monarchists and elitists have one big problem: they show no capacity to ever win a parliamentary majority and govern Thailand through the ballot box. Remember, TRT under Thaksin and his populist policies, was the only party in Thai history to ever win an election with an outright majority in Parliament. It changed the map of Thailand and threatened to break the elites' stranglehold on the levers of power, in both government and the army.
Faced with the prospect of losing more elections, the old elite seems determined to sabotage the democratic process with a coup, followed by a government filled with land mines. They seem prepared to destroy democracy and populism if that's what it takes to destroy Thaksinism. Unfortunately, what could emerge is country with no effective government.
