Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Fed Up with crosswords and Sudoku?
Solve this one for Easter:
POST-ELECTION IMPASSE
Can we get out of this jam?
Published on April 11, 2006
Constitution experts say only way to sort out mess is to nullify April 2 result and call fresh general election in 120 days
Thai democracy is facing a logjam, and the way out may require an almost impossible decision from the Election Commission (EC) - or another very controversial ruling from the Constitution Court.
Questions have been raised over the EC's legal authority to hold the April 23 by-elections since the April 2 election had created many "illegitimate" winning MPs. The EC might also
have violated Article 157 of the Constitution by inviting candidates from other parties to stand in the by-elections in 39 constituencies, where the April 2 candidates had failed to win 20 per cent of the registered votes.
The Democrats have submitted a complaint to the Administrative Court asking it to issue an injunction on the April 23 by-elections on the grounds that the EC does not have the legal authority to accept new candidates.
The Democrats have argued that the EC should have held
the by-elections with the existing candidates until results are achieved.
Supposing this sticky problem is solved, then can Parliament convene with 499 MPs because one of the party-list members of Thai Rak Thai has resigned?
Yet another ugly prospect of the new Parliament is that it would be made up almost entirely of Thai Rak Thai members - the opposition would consist of a solitary MP.
Assuming the April 23 by-elections proceed but fail to fill the required 400 constituency seats, can Parliament be convened? These legal and constitu-tional problems require tough decisions by the EC - which has been accused of holding the by-elections in a way that favours the ruling party - and an eventual ruling by the Consti-tution Court, no matter how contentious it might be.
A former constitutional drafter said the political impasse has reached a critical point and at least two drastic steps must be seriously considered to resolve the deadlock.
Asking not to be identified, he said the first step is for the EC to swallow its pride and nullify the April 2 general election because the unfinished polls have already faced too many legal and legitimacy issues, which are beyond rescue efforts.
Second, the authorities concerned should hold a new election in 120 days to allow all three former opposition parties - as well as Thai Rak Thai and other new parties to stand.
"The 120-day postponement would remove the locks on Thai Rak Thai MP candidates joining another party to stand for the new round of elections.
"In addition, the new round of polls would take place around August after all the grand ceremonies to mark His Majesty the King's 60 years on the throne are completed," he said.
As for the April 2 election and consequent by-elections, he said: "Eventually, this whole exercise will become a complete mishap and waste of taxpayers' money. It is beyond any rescue efforts.
"The road ahead is just a dead-end because the whole election has been broken in too many areas. It's like a severely impaired person," he said.
"It's no longer possible to circumvent the laws or to misinterpret the intents of the Constitution in order to fix these problems."
"For instance, there would be at least six constituencies in southern Thailand where MP candidates will not get the minimum 20 per cent of votes required to win the still-vacant House seats.
"Second, it's illegal for the EC to allow new candidates to stand for the election re-runs in many constituencies since only the original candidates who failed to win on April 2 are qualified to run.
"Third, an MP candidate, who was disqualified for April 2, is not eligible to run [in the by-election], but she is being allowed to do so.
"Fourth, it's not possible to have a 500-MP House when the Thai Rak Thai's party-list MP candidates stand at 99, instead of the required 100, since all other contesting parties were too small and did not get enough votes to earn any party-list MP seats on April 2."
As a result, it's now highly likely that the April 2 polls and the April 23 by-elections will not yield a result to allow the opening of a new Parliament.
Given these problems, the source suggested it would be better for General Vasana Puemlarp, chairman of the EC, to consider seeking an audience with HM the King to resolve the impasse by nullifying the April 2 election and consequent polls.
That move and holding a new election in 120 days could be sought by the EC chairman under Article 7 of the Constitution.
Likhit Dhiravekhin, a Thai Rak Thai party-list candidate, said the Constitution Court might need to rule in favour of a new Parliament so that the country can move ahead.
Speaking at a seminar held at Thammasat University yesterday, Likhit said he was well aware of the legal, constitutional and legitimacy problems besetting the new Parliament but in the end the Constitution Court might have to issue a ruling against the Constitution itself.
"In the end, the way out for the country is to embrace an option that may run against the principle of the Constitution, otherwise the logjam cannot be resolved. Then we have to remind ourselves of Alexander the Great's remark that 'We have to commit a minor mistake in order to protect the greater good'. We have to do it because there is no other way out," Lihkit said.
Kittisak Prokati, a law lecturer from Thammasat University, said the EC did not possess the legal authority to hold the April 23 by-elections because it had breached the law by calling for candidates from other political parties to stand.
The EC had to hold the election with the existing candidates.
But this would depend on the Administrative Court's decision as the Democrat Party has filed a complaint with it.
If the Administrative Court were to issue an injunction to block the by-elections in the 38 constituencies, excluding Nonthaburi, they might not take place.
"If the April 23 by-elections do not take place, Parliament cannot be convened. Then the EC may ask the caretaker Cabinet to issue a royal decree to ask for a new election.
"Once we have a new election, then democracy can proceed," he said.
Trakoon Meechai, a political lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, said eventually all the 400 constituency seats would be filled. But the question was, how to fill the 100 party-list seats because Dr Premsak Piayura had resigned, he said.
If the number of MPs did not reach 500 as required for Parliament to convene, the caretaker government must submit the issue to the Constitution Court for a ruling.
Yuwarat Komolvej, a former election commissioner, said another round of by-elections could be held if the April 23 election did not produce enough MPs. But it had to be done quickly.
"If there are not enough MPs, the EC can make a case of it then send the matter to the Senate so that the Senate president can resubmit the matter to the Constitution Court for a final ruling," he said.
Political Desk
The Nation
Solve this one for Easter:
POST-ELECTION IMPASSE
Can we get out of this jam?
Published on April 11, 2006
Constitution experts say only way to sort out mess is to nullify April 2 result and call fresh general election in 120 days
Thai democracy is facing a logjam, and the way out may require an almost impossible decision from the Election Commission (EC) - or another very controversial ruling from the Constitution Court.
Questions have been raised over the EC's legal authority to hold the April 23 by-elections since the April 2 election had created many "illegitimate" winning MPs. The EC might also
have violated Article 157 of the Constitution by inviting candidates from other parties to stand in the by-elections in 39 constituencies, where the April 2 candidates had failed to win 20 per cent of the registered votes.
The Democrats have submitted a complaint to the Administrative Court asking it to issue an injunction on the April 23 by-elections on the grounds that the EC does not have the legal authority to accept new candidates.
The Democrats have argued that the EC should have held
the by-elections with the existing candidates until results are achieved.
Supposing this sticky problem is solved, then can Parliament convene with 499 MPs because one of the party-list members of Thai Rak Thai has resigned?
Yet another ugly prospect of the new Parliament is that it would be made up almost entirely of Thai Rak Thai members - the opposition would consist of a solitary MP.
Assuming the April 23 by-elections proceed but fail to fill the required 400 constituency seats, can Parliament be convened? These legal and constitu-tional problems require tough decisions by the EC - which has been accused of holding the by-elections in a way that favours the ruling party - and an eventual ruling by the Consti-tution Court, no matter how contentious it might be.
A former constitutional drafter said the political impasse has reached a critical point and at least two drastic steps must be seriously considered to resolve the deadlock.
Asking not to be identified, he said the first step is for the EC to swallow its pride and nullify the April 2 general election because the unfinished polls have already faced too many legal and legitimacy issues, which are beyond rescue efforts.
Second, the authorities concerned should hold a new election in 120 days to allow all three former opposition parties - as well as Thai Rak Thai and other new parties to stand.
"The 120-day postponement would remove the locks on Thai Rak Thai MP candidates joining another party to stand for the new round of elections.
"In addition, the new round of polls would take place around August after all the grand ceremonies to mark His Majesty the King's 60 years on the throne are completed," he said.
As for the April 2 election and consequent by-elections, he said: "Eventually, this whole exercise will become a complete mishap and waste of taxpayers' money. It is beyond any rescue efforts.
"The road ahead is just a dead-end because the whole election has been broken in too many areas. It's like a severely impaired person," he said.
"It's no longer possible to circumvent the laws or to misinterpret the intents of the Constitution in order to fix these problems."
"For instance, there would be at least six constituencies in southern Thailand where MP candidates will not get the minimum 20 per cent of votes required to win the still-vacant House seats.
"Second, it's illegal for the EC to allow new candidates to stand for the election re-runs in many constituencies since only the original candidates who failed to win on April 2 are qualified to run.
"Third, an MP candidate, who was disqualified for April 2, is not eligible to run [in the by-election], but she is being allowed to do so.
"Fourth, it's not possible to have a 500-MP House when the Thai Rak Thai's party-list MP candidates stand at 99, instead of the required 100, since all other contesting parties were too small and did not get enough votes to earn any party-list MP seats on April 2."
As a result, it's now highly likely that the April 2 polls and the April 23 by-elections will not yield a result to allow the opening of a new Parliament.
Given these problems, the source suggested it would be better for General Vasana Puemlarp, chairman of the EC, to consider seeking an audience with HM the King to resolve the impasse by nullifying the April 2 election and consequent polls.
That move and holding a new election in 120 days could be sought by the EC chairman under Article 7 of the Constitution.
Likhit Dhiravekhin, a Thai Rak Thai party-list candidate, said the Constitution Court might need to rule in favour of a new Parliament so that the country can move ahead.
Speaking at a seminar held at Thammasat University yesterday, Likhit said he was well aware of the legal, constitutional and legitimacy problems besetting the new Parliament but in the end the Constitution Court might have to issue a ruling against the Constitution itself.
"In the end, the way out for the country is to embrace an option that may run against the principle of the Constitution, otherwise the logjam cannot be resolved. Then we have to remind ourselves of Alexander the Great's remark that 'We have to commit a minor mistake in order to protect the greater good'. We have to do it because there is no other way out," Lihkit said.
Kittisak Prokati, a law lecturer from Thammasat University, said the EC did not possess the legal authority to hold the April 23 by-elections because it had breached the law by calling for candidates from other political parties to stand.
The EC had to hold the election with the existing candidates.
But this would depend on the Administrative Court's decision as the Democrat Party has filed a complaint with it.
If the Administrative Court were to issue an injunction to block the by-elections in the 38 constituencies, excluding Nonthaburi, they might not take place.
"If the April 23 by-elections do not take place, Parliament cannot be convened. Then the EC may ask the caretaker Cabinet to issue a royal decree to ask for a new election.
"Once we have a new election, then democracy can proceed," he said.
Trakoon Meechai, a political lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, said eventually all the 400 constituency seats would be filled. But the question was, how to fill the 100 party-list seats because Dr Premsak Piayura had resigned, he said.
If the number of MPs did not reach 500 as required for Parliament to convene, the caretaker government must submit the issue to the Constitution Court for a ruling.
Yuwarat Komolvej, a former election commissioner, said another round of by-elections could be held if the April 23 election did not produce enough MPs. But it had to be done quickly.
"If there are not enough MPs, the EC can make a case of it then send the matter to the Senate so that the Senate president can resubmit the matter to the Constitution Court for a final ruling," he said.
Political Desk
The Nation
Saturday, April 08, 2006
April 2006
Sawankhalok
The holiday season, the dreaded Songkran of water drenching notoriety, approaches.
Elodie has taken to the bath on her own and with her sister!!??
Sawankhalok is brimming with people. The markets almost impassable. There are new motorbikes and pickups everywhere. The hidden wealth of this town never ceases to astonish. Two pieces of information. There is a shop for sale in the main road. This is quite unusual. K went to investigate. Emerges the whole of the main road, on both sides belongs to the State Railway of Thailand. So there are no freeholds only leases. It then emerges that all the land from the river to the main road belongs to the Water Authority….so not much freehold land in Sawankhalok. No wonder what we bought was expensive. Then. K talking to the owner of the ‘hardware stores’ which sells everything from screws to building steel..We turn over about 20m B a year ie about 300,000 GBP, which means they are taking a profit on sales of some 2500GBP or 165000 Baht a month. Average wage in Thailand? C 16000Baht a month!! At the most..that would include BKK; for the rest of the country less than 9000Baht a month.
Of all the places in the UK it reminds me of Shropshire. Fertile land explored, developed, used, industrialised over several centuries. It so happened they developed a ceramics industry here too, but I suppose Etruria was not so far from Ironbridge and Manafon, was it?
It has been a bizarre week. Both the computers broken. One sent off to Phitsanulok to be mended, the other binned. One in Phitsanulok apparently ‘stolen’ who knows in Thailand. However Acer Thailand produced a replacement in 48 hours, so here I sit!
We are having endless lorry loads of earth shipped in, at 5GBP a lorry-20 so far- to raise the height of the land above floodwater level. I call it the Canute operation. Cannot see it will work. But it might alleviate the flood damage. Alternatively it might deviate the water from its natural path into the house!
Reminds me of all those woodcuts of busy Japanese altering the face of the earth. However here we live and to avoid inundation we need to do it
Elodie has discovered glue, paper, glitter, shapes, scissors etc. So the house is awash with off cuts, sticky floors and glit!
I went down the market and got some pig’s hearts and courgettes which will make decent grilled hors d’oeuvres. Then there is more gazpacho and what is known as Pak Nam Prik ie. Boiled, steamed or grilled vegetables and a decently fiery dipping sauce.
K came back with two sheepskins which she tells me she is putting in the car-well that will help to counter the ferocious air conditioning
We have just been doing the final costings of the ‘sala’ !:
4m x 3m building 3m high
4 pillars
Steel Roof, insulated with heat repelling foil and ‘provencal’ cement tiles
Bargeboards, drainpipes and gutters
Raised 1m Cement Floor with Ceramic Duragres Tiles
Cost including all materials and labor and decorators finish and that is 3 persons for 10 days and 10 hour days too!: c 650GBP
What would that have cost in the UK? 10,000GBP? Think of the labor cost, never mind the materials-best quality cement , sand tiles and steel etc.
Oh and we did not need planning permission or to have the attentive ‘services; of ‘Building regulations officers’!
Though with the house the ‘Council’ will draw up the plans. 100GBP for full architectural drawings, elevations, specifications , and whatever other ‘permits’ might be needed,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,expected April28..and then on our way!!
Sawankhalok
The holiday season, the dreaded Songkran of water drenching notoriety, approaches.
Elodie has taken to the bath on her own and with her sister!!??
Sawankhalok is brimming with people. The markets almost impassable. There are new motorbikes and pickups everywhere. The hidden wealth of this town never ceases to astonish. Two pieces of information. There is a shop for sale in the main road. This is quite unusual. K went to investigate. Emerges the whole of the main road, on both sides belongs to the State Railway of Thailand. So there are no freeholds only leases. It then emerges that all the land from the river to the main road belongs to the Water Authority….so not much freehold land in Sawankhalok. No wonder what we bought was expensive. Then. K talking to the owner of the ‘hardware stores’ which sells everything from screws to building steel..We turn over about 20m B a year ie about 300,000 GBP, which means they are taking a profit on sales of some 2500GBP or 165000 Baht a month. Average wage in Thailand? C 16000Baht a month!! At the most..that would include BKK; for the rest of the country less than 9000Baht a month.
Of all the places in the UK it reminds me of Shropshire. Fertile land explored, developed, used, industrialised over several centuries. It so happened they developed a ceramics industry here too, but I suppose Etruria was not so far from Ironbridge and Manafon, was it?
It has been a bizarre week. Both the computers broken. One sent off to Phitsanulok to be mended, the other binned. One in Phitsanulok apparently ‘stolen’ who knows in Thailand. However Acer Thailand produced a replacement in 48 hours, so here I sit!
We are having endless lorry loads of earth shipped in, at 5GBP a lorry-20 so far- to raise the height of the land above floodwater level. I call it the Canute operation. Cannot see it will work. But it might alleviate the flood damage. Alternatively it might deviate the water from its natural path into the house!
Reminds me of all those woodcuts of busy Japanese altering the face of the earth. However here we live and to avoid inundation we need to do it
Elodie has discovered glue, paper, glitter, shapes, scissors etc. So the house is awash with off cuts, sticky floors and glit!
I went down the market and got some pig’s hearts and courgettes which will make decent grilled hors d’oeuvres. Then there is more gazpacho and what is known as Pak Nam Prik ie. Boiled, steamed or grilled vegetables and a decently fiery dipping sauce.
K came back with two sheepskins which she tells me she is putting in the car-well that will help to counter the ferocious air conditioning
We have just been doing the final costings of the ‘sala’ !:
4m x 3m building 3m high
4 pillars
Steel Roof, insulated with heat repelling foil and ‘provencal’ cement tiles
Bargeboards, drainpipes and gutters
Raised 1m Cement Floor with Ceramic Duragres Tiles
Cost including all materials and labor and decorators finish and that is 3 persons for 10 days and 10 hour days too!: c 650GBP
What would that have cost in the UK? 10,000GBP? Think of the labor cost, never mind the materials-best quality cement , sand tiles and steel etc.
Oh and we did not need planning permission or to have the attentive ‘services; of ‘Building regulations officers’!
Though with the house the ‘Council’ will draw up the plans. 100GBP for full architectural drawings, elevations, specifications , and whatever other ‘permits’ might be needed,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,expected April28..and then on our way!!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
So now we move in to a DE-TOXin period..though I doubt it. I should think there will be much string pulling behind the arras.
I don't think many people have really clocked that we had an election with a one party list and some 20 million people managed to get out of bed to vote NO ie anyone but the one party candidate. Can't see that happening in many 'de-mockeracies'.
Anyway it is too hot to think really. We are watching the guys starting to build the house, and are doing the 'sala' or garden room-sitting -it is just under 40 degrees in the shade so well into the 100s in the open sun-welding the roof trusses at 13.00!!
What is one to eat when its like this? Cannot buy a decent salad-no fish-no olives. I made a startlingly good gazpacho, but would not want to eat it every day. Thai food seems cloying rather than cooling or invigorating. Have tried vindaloos and biryanis, but again not entirey satis. No yogurt. Locals just munching their way through endless bowls of incredibly tedious noodles.