‘Weak, unstable’ govt beckons

SPECIAL REPORT: CDC admits its charter draft aims to weaken big parties in the name of unity, write Nattaya Chetchotiros, Mongkol Bangprapa and Aekarach Sattaburuth

The mixed member proportional representation (MMP) system proposed under the new constitution will enfeeble large political parties and lead to weak and unstable coalition governments prone to falling at any time, the two major political parties said.

Politicians from the Pheu Thai and Democrat parties told the Bangkok Post the German-style voting system will favour smaller parties or political groups and undermine major political parties by creating conflicts within party ranks.

However, the charter drafters argue the MMP system will boost the rights and power of ordinary citizens and pave the way for political groups to become more institutionalised.

Though it admittedly encourages coalition government comprising small parties, this is designed to ease political conflict, the drafters said.

Pheu Thai Party legal adviser Chusak Sirinil said the system is designed to benefit small parties at the expense of the big parties by proposing to cut the number of constituency MPs, the bulk of the major parties’ parliamentary seats, and increase the number of list MPs under a MMP model while allowing political groups to run in elections without party affiliation.

“This will enfeeble the main political parties,” Mr Chusak said.

The former Pheu Thai list MP said the charter drafters clearly favour a coalition government comprising small parties because under the MMP system, no single political party will be able to obtain an absolute majority of votes to form a government.

“Small parties and political groups will have a more significant role and gain more bargaining power in forming governments,” he said.

Mr Chusak said there are also other mechanisms under the proposed charter that will also destabilise an already weak coalition government.

A proposal to allow the Senate to impeach political-office holders is a case in point, Mr Chusak said, predicting the Senate, which will be indirectly elected, would work in league with the opposition to unseat the government.

“We will have an unstable and dysfunctional government which cannot run the country properly. It may last for only six months or only one year,” Mr Chusak predicted.

He said that under a MMP-style system, the two major political parties — the Pheu Thai and Democrat parties — will win fewer House seats, but small parties and political groups would win more.

Pheu Thai secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai said the MMP system should be credited in principle for promoting small parties, although it will still have an negative impact on major ones. Major parties will diminish and will be thrown into internal chaos, Mr Phumtham said.

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva also opposed the MMP voting system, saying political problems that have arisen in recent years have nothing to do with the rise or fall in the number of MPs. Reducing the number of MPs under the MMP system will not help solve any problems, he said.

Under the MMP system offering an “open list”, the number of MPs is set at 450470. Of these, 250 MPs will come from the constituency system and the rest will come from the party list system which accounts for another 200 to 220 MPs, depending on the number of votes cast on election day.

The party-list system is divided into six regions with each political party or political group being able to field between 31-35 party-list candidates per region.

Mr Abhisit said the adoption of the MMP system was ill-judged, and would throw political parties’ internal management into a mess.

Parties will have trouble calculating the exact number of candidates needed beforehand and fielding them in the constituency and party list systems under MMP. This will likely cause conflicts among candidates within the party, he said.

For example, if many of a party’s constituency candidates are elected, this means only a few of its party list candidates will get seats, as the party’s total number of seats must be proportional to its party list vote. The more constituency MPs that a party wins in a region, the fewer the party list candidates it will have in the House.

Mr Abhisit said the proposed “open list’’ under MMP system will also pose problems in creating the lineup of party list candidates.

We will have an unstable and dysfunctional government which cannot run the country properly. It may last for only six months or only one year.

CHUSAK SIRINIL

PHEU THAI PARTY LEGAL ADVISER

Internal conflict among candidates could erupt if a candidate who enjoys a higher position on the party list is not elected. This can happen when not enough voters choose those candidates on party list ballots, he said.

Mr Abhisit also spoke out against a proposal to waive a requirement that poll candidates must belong to political parties. He said the plan, which allows political groups to register and send candidates to run for elections, is unfair to parties.

While parties will be controlled by the Election Commission and various regulations, political groups would not be governed by the same rules.

However, Banthoon Setsirote, a member of the Constitution Drafting Committee, defended the adoption of MMP, arguing that coalition governments will help ease political conflict and foster unity. The new voting system will also open the way for political groups to participate more in institutionalised politics.

He said the CDC wanted to boost democracy in parties by making sure they run themselves well financially. Mr Banthoon added the “open list” will boost citizen rights as voters can re-arrange the positions of party list candidates.

The draft charter provides mechanisms to ensure coalition governments are formed, particularly involving the the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties, charter drafter Anek Laothammathat says. Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post, Mr Anek, chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC)’s subcommittee on reconciliation, said although the draft charter will pave the way for the formation of a specific 15-member panel for pushing reconciliation after the election, the whole charter offers solutions for reconciliation.

He said the draft constitution lays out mechanisms to encourage coalition governments so the reconciliation process can move ahead.

“Reconciliation could start with the rival parties — Democrat and Pheu Thai,” Mr Anek said. “They must be able to live together as colleagues or be components of democracy.”

He said the draft charter will also increase the role of the public in politics and that they will no longer need to take to the streets to protest.

People can participate in politics through a citizen’s assembly, a civic sector scrutiny council and a national ethics assembly, he said, adding citizens will be able to propose new laws if they can gather 10,000 names. They can also proceed with impeachment bids against politicians.

Under the draft charter, the make-up of the lower and upper house also reflects the reconciliation process, Mr Anek said. MPs will be elected by people in constituencies, while senators will be appointed with half of them being chosen by local councillors and a citizen’s assembly.

“We will not allow Thailand to go back to the same position, but this does not mean we want to have a dictatorship either,” Mr Anek said. “People will be allowed to play a direct role in politics.”

He said the electoral system envisaged under the charter was also designed to prevent any parties from having a majority of MPs, adding a party could gain 30-40% of the MPs at most.

The chairman of the CDC subcommittee on reconciliation insisted coalition government would be necessary, adding the charter has been designed to incorporate as many parties and groups as possible into such a coalition.

If a single party is allowed to run the country as happened in the past, political conflicts will return and people may have to go out and protest again, he said.

Mr Anek, however, said the next goal is just to form coalition governments, and a decision has yet to be made over whether the two major parties will form a coalition government together in a government of unity.

Thai people may be more accustomed to the practice where a major party holds power, and the other big one becomes the opposition, he said, adding: “We may have to study the models of Scandinavian countries, or the Netherlands and Switzerland, where coalition governments are established.”

Mr Anek said it would not be easy for a coalition government to be overthrown under the draft charter, unless the prime minister commits malfeasance or if he or she is impeached or unseated by the constitutional or administrative courts.

Parliamentary proceedings would not easily depose a coalition government because if a no-confidence vote against the government succeeds, the lower house must be dissolved.

The CDC intends to stop censure debates from being used to overthrow the government as they cause political disturbances. He insisted reconciliation must go forward though it will face intense criticism, noting that amnesties could be granted in the next five years once the truth behind the political conflicts is known.

He said he believed amnesties could still be the final goal, although they shouldn’t be pursued hastily as tensions could be encountered along the way.

Speaking about how to attain reconciliation, he said laws must be made to bring about cooperation between political rivals. “Some people who were injured in the [political] violence said they will no longer engage in those activities as they had in the past if they are released from jail,” Mr Anek said, citing the accounts of those who were jailed during the unrest.

ANEK LAOTHAMMATHAT Amnesties could be granted in the next five years once the truth behind the political conflicts is known.

CHAIRMAN OF THE CDC’S SUBCOMMITTEE ON RECONCILIATION