The ghost of parliament past
The Pheu Thai Party may be preparing for an election, which is suffering yet another delay most probably until early next year. However, for some of its former MPs, there is an important hurdle they feel they must cross.
And the hurdle is the ghost that is coming back to haunt the party, political observers say.
The National Legislative Assembly on Thursday night passed the much-anticipated organic draft law on the election of MPs which sets the time frame for the next general election. True to the expectations of many politicians, the bill had built into it a clause that allows the poll date to be delayed by up to 90 days from November.
The observers said despite yet another possible delay in the election, politicians and those aspiring to be one have come out of their political hiatus to “smell the coffee”. However, they must remain very cautious of the steps they take in making their moves as the National Council for Peace and Order ban on political activities has not been lifted.
For 40 former Pheu Thai MPs, the vote they cast in support of the amnesty bill back in 2013 threatens to land them in legal trouble with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) which has named a fact-finding committee to investigate them. The probe now stands between the 40 former MPs and the next poll.
If the NACC judges them guilty of supporting the amnesty bill with the implicit intention to benefit ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, as accused by Pheu Thai opponents, the former MPs could face indictment for abuse of authority in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions. Any punishment would look certain to include a five-year political ban, provided the case is wrapped up before the next polls takes place.
The bitterly controversial draft bill was set out to nullify corruption cases from 2006 onward, which would have exonerated Thaksin from the pending trials and conviction against him. Thaksin was sentenced to two years in jail for enabling his former wife, Khunying Potjaman Na Pombejra, to buy prime land on Ratchadaphisek Road at a discount, while he was serving as prime minister.
The bill was sponsored by Worachai Hema who was, at the time, a former Pheu Thai MP. The bill was met with stiff resistance from minority MPs as well as a large swath of people who were furious that the legislation had been pushed through by government lawmakers in the Lower House who ignored growing opposition to the bill.
The opponents said the majority lawmakers had appeared so adamant to pass the bill at all costs that they waited until late into the night to vote in favour of it when no one was looking.
The Yingluck Shinawatra government came under heavy pressure for allegedly having an ulterior motive in writing the legislation. It subsequently withdrew the bill before it reached the Senate although it was too late to undo the damage as the anti-government groups were already forming, which would later give rise to the consolidation of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee mass protests.
The protesters and the Pheu Thai-led government were at loggerheads for months until the military intervened by staging a coup to topple the administration.
The observers said the amnesty bill left an indelible blemish on the Yingluck administration and the 40 former MPs are still suffering as a result.
Pheu Thai has petitioned the NACC to abort the fact-finding probe against the 40 former MPs, claiming the commission has no authority to investigate the matter since the former MPs were exercising their duty as legislators with full parliamentary immunity.
Turning the tables on NACC president Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit the petition accused him of conflicts of interest for scrutinising the organic draft law on the NACC to permit under-qualified commissioners — according to the constitution — including Pol Gen Watcharapol himself, keep their posts.
However, critics say Pheu Thai should know better to concentrate on helping the 40 former MPs with an effective legal defence in case the NACC finds grounds in the abuse of authority allegation against the former lawmakers.
It would be counterproductive to add to the legal quagmire by adopting a tit-fortat approach.