No House dissolution yet
EC ‘needs time’ to prepare for election
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he will not call for the dissolution of the House of Representatives yet despite having the legal grounds to do so after two amended organic laws for holding elections took effect yesterday.
He said the Election Commission (EC) still needs time to prepare for the coming polls.
“Not yet, the EC will be given time to work [on preparations for the polls] first,” he said.
The laws amended and passed by parliament — one on political parties and the other on the election of MPs — were published in the Royal Gazette on Saturday after their enactment and a royal command from His Majesty the King.
Changes were made to reflect changes in the election method from a single-ballot to a dual-ballot system.
The enactment of the two laws provides legal grounds for Gen Prayut to request a House dissolution and call for an election.
In case MPs’ four-year term runs its course on March 23, the next election will be held within 45 days or by May 7.
If the House is dissolved before March 23, the poll will be organised between 45 and 60 days.
Asked about his first pre-election campaign stop as a member of the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party in Chumphon on Saturday night, Gen Prayut said he was excited.
However, he said he must tread carefully to avoid problems because he is still the PM.
He said the UTN will first assess his initial campaign performance so he can improve in the future.
Sawaeng Boonmee, EC secretarygeneral, previously said the poll agency had drawn up regulations related to the elections, and they would be announced once the two amended laws were enacted.
The EC now will have 25 days to redraw electoral boundaries while parties will also need another 20 days to conduct primary voting to select candidates.
He added that currently, there are only three parties that have branches or representatives in every province, and as such they can field candidates in all constituencies.
He said if the House is dissolved too soon, there will be no electoral boundaries, and the application for election candidacy cannot be held.
A source at the EC said members will meet today to discuss a regulation on electoral boundaries.
The regulation will be issued as quickly as possible to serve as a guideline for provincial election offices to draw up electoral boundaries for the 400 constituency MPs nationwide, the source said.
According to the organic law on the election of MPs, the EC must send electoral boundary formats to provincial election offices, which will hold public hearings to gather feedback from stakeholders including voters and political parties.
Pheu Thai Party leader Cholnan Srikaew said the enactment has provided a legal basis for the general election to take place.
Under the amended law on political parties, parties can now have only one representative in each province, instead of one in every constituency, making life easier for parties, he said.
Nikorn Chamnong, a list MP for the Chartthaipattana Party, said parties will get into election mode now the laws have been enacted, and poll candidates will be out on the hustings at full throttle once the EC announces the electoral boundaries.
He said he believes a House dissolution may take place any time after the general debate, scheduled for Feb 15–16.
The debate will be the final battle between government and opposition parties before parliament’s final session ends on Feb 28, he said.
Meanwhile, a survey by Nida Poll found that many think Gen Prayut of the UTN party and Gen Prawit Wongsuwon of the Palang Pracharath Party will reunite and form a coalition government after the next election.
A total of 1,310 people over 18 across various levels of education, occupations and incomes throughout the country were surveyed. A total of 46.5% said the generals have not “broken up” but are merely competing in politics.
The opposition should be wary of the risk of the upcoming general debate backfiring, an academic has warned.
The general debate is being held on Feb 15-16 with no censure vote. Stithorn Thananithichote, a political researcher at King Prajadhipok’s Institute, said the government may turn the debate to its advantage if the opposition fails to come up with much of substance.
If the debate fails to offer new, damning allegations against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha or the government, it may be seen as a mere stunt by the opposition to increase its edge ahead of the next election, he said.
“People might focus on how Gen Prayut responds in the debate, and the tables may turn in his favour if he manages to answer the debate queries well,” Mr Stithorn said.
If the opposition brings up graft, it might provide a platform for Gen Prayut to explain how he plans to tackle the issue, turning the debate into a forum to trumpet the government’s success, he added.
The opposition seems driven to make a political game out of the debate with the aim of pressuring Gen Prayut to dissolve the House and call for a general election before the MPs’ four-year tenure expires on March 23, he said.
The debate might be an attempt to make the government appear incapacitated, but so far no “life-and-death” issue has emerged which could bring it down, Mr Stithorn said.
“The general debate may end up being overkill and the opposition runs the risk of exposing its own weakness,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cholnan Srikaew, leader of the main opposition Pheu Thai Party, said debate time has been delegated among opposition parties. Pheu Thai will have up to 11 hours in which to take to the floor.
Sutin Klungsang, the opposition chief whip, will head a meeting today of opposition parties to run through issues earmarked for the debate. The issues are expected to be finalised before the week is out, he added.
Prasert Chanthararuangthong, the Pheu Thai secretary-general, said the debate issues were drawn from the government’s failure to manage the country during its time in office. None of the policies it declared to parliament at the beginning of its tenure four years ago have been implemented, he said.
Any debate issues the opposition feels are backed by sufficient evidence will be forwarded to the National Counter-Corruption Commission.