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DPM Wissanu says primary deadline will be met so the show can go on Suporn Atthawong and Nakhon Machim pull no punches in attacking former political allies Fugitive former PM takes no chances as UK receives extradition request
Sticking to poll roadmap
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kreangam has given his assurance that constituency boundaries will be redrawn and primary votes carried out within 90 days of the law on the election of MPs taking effect.
His explanation was meant to clarify why there must be a 90-day window after the law takes effect. It has already been scrutinised by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) and forwarded for royal approval.
He insisted the general election, which is expected early next year, cannot take place until the constituency issue and primaries have been taken care of.
The constituency boundaries will be altered on account of a new election method being introduced. For the primaries, registered members will vote for MP candidates from their respective parties.
The new constituency demarcation will require amending a relevant order issued by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). The primaries, on the other hand, are governed by a law on political parties.
Mr Wissanu said after these issues have been resolved, preparations and campaigning for the general election can begin in earnest.
Originally, a five-month deadline was set for redrawing the constituency boundaries, the primaries and the poll preparations. But Mr Wissanu said this might not be enough time so 90 more days were added.
Mr Wissanu said the NCPO would decide on the form of the primary vote. The regime and political parties have met and mulled over three options. One involves scrapping the vote for the next poll, which was favoured by the parties. Another was to forge ahead with the vote in the provinces, while the third option was to call for a primary vote at regional level.
The Democrat Party has urged the regime to be more decisive on this matter. But its leader, Abhisit Vejjajivat, insists that an alternative method of selecting MP candidates must be in place if the primaries are to be suspended.
Meanwhile, the NCPO has been urged by some politicians to exercise its special powers under Section 44 of the interim charter to halt the primary vote. This is based on the logic that it creates an unnecessary burden at a point when time is not on anyone’s side. Critics say such a vote would only complicate the preparations for the poll.
Mr Abhisit said if were to be ditched, another system must replace it to uphold the constitutionally enshrined principle of having the public participate in the process of parties choosing their MP candidates.
He said the NCPO does not have to wait until the bill on the election of MPs takes effect within three months of its publication in the Royal Gazette to lift its ban on political activities.
Time is of the essence as the parties will be eager to get a head start on electioneering and re-engage with voters after more than four years away from active campaigning.
There are many steps required to organise the primaries and re-demarcate constituencies. Political analysts say the earlier they start, the better it will be for the political parties.
Mr Abhisit has also appealed to the regime to relax its long-held ban on political activities.
Practically speaking, that would allow parties to open constituency branches quickly. The redesignation of constituencies by the Election Commission could proceed in parallel, which would save time.
Turncoats raise profiles
With election season fast approaching, several politicians are hard at work raising their profiles to market themselves as potential candidates. None seem to beat Suporn “Rambo Isan” Atthawong, defunct Thai Rak Thai Party former MP, and former Democrat Party member Nakhon Machim.
Both have turned against their old political parties, and in doing so they have triggered a debate among political observers as to which of them has caused the most serious damage to their former political allies.
In Mr Suporn’s case, the veteran politician based in Nakhon Ratchasima has walked away from the Pheu Thai Party and aligned himself with Phalang Pracharat, a newly registered political group with close affiliation to the regime which is believed to be the electoral machinery that will carry Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha back into power after the next election.
The Nakhon Ratchasima-based Phalang Korat group, to which Mr Suporn belongs, has also announced it is supporting Phalang Pracharat. The group is newly formed and made up of the province’s former Pheu Thaiaffiliated MPs.
Mr Suporn’s new-found political stance has caught many by surprise due to his long history with Pheu Thai and its de-facto leader, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr Suporn has never spoken ill of either in public, until now.
During the red-shirt street protests in 2010 against the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration, “Rambo Isan” announced he was embarking on a new chapter in his life and decided to wash his hands of politics in order to lead a full-time movement against dictatorship.
However, Mr Suporn has now turned his back on Pheu Thai and the red-shirt movement and based on his remarks, political observers say Mr Suporn must be prepared for the accusation that he has burned bridges on his way out.
He was quoted as saying that Pheu Thai was only paying lip service to democracy while red-shirt leaders were driven by personal gain.
He also reportedly said he did not want to end up like his colleague Jatuporn Prompan, who is serving a prison term for defaming former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva during the red-shirt street protests. Jatuporn, according to some critics, has been a cause for sympathy for spearheading a thankless fight in the red shirts’ name and was never “rewarded” with a ministerial post in return.
As for Mr Nakhon, the former Democrat member quit the party in 2013 to join the Chartpattana Party and contested the elections under the new party’s banner in 2014. He won the poll, which was boycotted by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee protesters. The poll was later nullified by the Constitutional Court for having failed to be held within one day as stipulated by the charter.
Mr Nakhon attracted a lot of public attention recently with a single post he made on social media.
Marking Thaksin’s birthday, Mr Nakhon flattered the former premier while firing a salvo at the Democrats and accusing them of conspiring with the military to topple the administrations of Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra.
He implied that the Democrats had secretly worked with the military to overthrow the governments of Thaksin and Yingluck because they were unable to beat Pheu Thai in elections.
The Democrats were also part of an alleged plot leading to the dissolution of the Thai Rak Thai and People’s Power parties. They were the two political parties that preceded Pheu Thai. Both were dissolved by the Constitutional Court over electoral fraud.
Mr Nakhon also apologised to Thaksin and Yingluck for his criticisms of the pair.
While Mr Suporn’s remark has not generated much response from the wider political spectrum, Mr Nakhon’s “expose” of the Democrats has triggered a lawsuit threat from the party for what it calls false accusations made on social media.
However, political pundits have noted that Mr Nakhon’s attack against the Democrats is not surprising and he has demonstrated his desire to side with Pheu Thai for years by appearing on a red-shirt affiliated TV station and heaping flattery on Thaksin.
It is reported that Mr Nakhon did not get along well with Chartpattana and he instead spent the past four years hanging out with former Pheu Thai MPs and acting as if he was already one of them.
Yingluck jets off to Dubai
Fugitive former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has reportedly dashed off to Dubai after the government sought her extradition from the UK, where she is believed to have been based since fleeing Thailand last year to avoid a jail sentence.
She left London on Wednesday and flew to Dubai where her older brother Thaksin Shinawatra, another fugitive former premier, is thought to be based, so as to avoid “uncertainty” about the extradition request, sources said.
While it is still not clear if Britain will agree to hand her over to Thailand, she could not afford to take any risk, so she fled to Dubai, observers said.
Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai confirmed on Tuesday that the government has officially sought Yingluck’s extradition from Britain.
The extradition request was made earlier this month in a letter dated July 5 and submitted via the Thai embassy in London to Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The request cited the 1911 extradition treaty between the UK and Siam, according to media reports.
Yingluck, who was prime minister from 2011 until she was ousted by the Constitutional Court shortly before the 2014 coup, fled the country in August last year during a court case against her.
The following month she was sentenced in absentia by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to five years in jail for mishandling a ricepledging project that caused massive losses.
It was widely believed that Yingluck sought asylum in Britain after her escape.
Calls for her extradition resurfaced after Yingluck was seen in a video clip posted on Instagram last weekend in which she said she is now living in Covent Garden in London’s West End.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha admitted that the chances of extraditing Yingluck would be close to zero without Britain agreeing to send her back.
“The government has completed its legal steps. Whether the extradition happens or not depends on the other country,” the prime minister said.
“But if they [the British] do not formally reply to the extradition request, nothing will come out of it. That’s a fact,” Gen Prayut said.
Former foreign minister Kasit Piromya previously said the government should provide the UK and international community with more detailed information to substantiate the extradition request.
Mr Kasit said he believes the UK lacks adequate information about Yingluck’s case.
The government must prove Yingluck’s case is not a political witch-hunt. It has to give details about her administration’s ricepledging case and the damage it has caused the country, he said.
He said the details would add weight to the extradition request, noting the government should coordinate with every country where Yingluck is known to have travelled.
Amnat Chotchai, director-general of the International Affairs Department at the Office of the Attorney-General, said the request states clearly that the case against Yingluck is not politically motivated. However, the decision to agree to or ignore the request lies with the British government, he said.
The political offence clause included in most extradition treaties, including the 1911 treaty between the UK and Siam means an individual cannot be extradited over a political offence.