Month: July 2011

Categories
Thai politics

More on the EC delay

More on the Election Commission delay I mentioned yesterday: The New York Times notes:

Efforts to form a new government in Thailand are being snarled by a docket of legal challenges and what critics say are the slow workings of the country’s Election Commission.

The messy aftermath of the July 3 election, which was won by a party backed by the ousted prime minister and billionaire in exile Thaksin Shinawatra, has raised the possibility that the outcome might be reversed, angering supporters of Thailand’s many political factions and ushering in a return to street politics.

And later:

The Election Commission has nearly three weeks to certify the election, a time frame that Gothom Arya, a former election commissioner, said was feasible.

“I am an optimist,” Mr. Gothom said. “The rule of the game is that within 30 days, you have to announce the result. I think they will do it.”

Meanwhile, BP also has some analysis.

Categories
Thai politics

Yingluck and others yet to be endorsed by Thailand’s Election Commission

2011 07 13 nation yingluck

While it’s unclear whether the news constitutes a “bombshell,” as the Nation headline says, here are some details.

Today’s Bangkok Post tells us that:

Yingluck Shinawatra, Abhisit Vejjajiva and a number of red-shirt politicians were missing from the 358 MPs endorsed by the Election Commission yesterday.

They failed to receive confirmation of their election victories from the EC in its first batch of result endorsements, as investigations into complaints against them for allegedly breaching election law are pending.

Pheu Thai’s Ms Yingluck, who is expected to be the next prime minister, Mr Abhisit, the outgoing premier and former Democrat Party leader, and key red shirt leaders including Jatuporn Prompan and Natthawut Saikua are among 142 poll winners whose confirmations have been suspended pending investigation.

And:

Also among those not yet endorsed are the Democrat Party’s acting secretary general and deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban, the Democrats’ PM’s Office Minister Ong-art Klampaibul and former House speaker Chai Chidchob from the Bhumjaithai Party.

And finally, on the would-be “noodle-gate“:

Ms Yingluck, meanwhile, has been cleared by the EC of alleged vote-buying in connection with a highly publicised incident when she fried noodles and distributed portions to voters during a May 31 campaign stop in Nakhon Ratchasima province. However, the EC has not yet ruled on other allegations facing her, and so her poll win cannot yet be endorsed.

Meanwhile, the Nation says:

The Election Commission rattled would-be prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the Pheu Thai Party last night after it delayed endorsement of her election win and those of 11 other party candidates.

The commission said the endorsement of Yingluck was delayed pending an inquiry into “several” legal matters regarding her party’s election campaign. Yingluck was portrayed by Pheu Thai as its prime ministerial candidate with a controversial slogan “Thaksin thinks, Pheu Thai acts”. She was also accused of violating vote-buying rules by cooking and distributing noodle dishes to constituents. Subsequently, the accusation was dropped by the EC.

The EC also held back endorsement of former Democrat leader and outgoing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva over complaints of vote-buying.

However, the EC has never “suspended” top party-list candidates in the past.

And:

The EC traditionally does not immediately endorse those who have had complaints lodged against them. The EC will meet again on July 19 to reconsider those have not yet been endorsed. EC member Sodsri Sataya-thum said a subcommittee would look into legal matters concerning the cases of Yingluck and Abhisit and report to the EC in seven days.

Endorsed members of Parliament were advised to pick up documents for their House of Represen-tatives registration from tomorrow.

The EC will have 30 days to investigate the cases of the other 55 MPs-elect who were questioned, the source said. By August 1, at least 475 MPs must be endorsed so that the House can assemble and begin work.

(All emphasis mine.)

(Image: @lekasina on Lockerz.)

Categories
Misc.

Self-promotion: a few Newley.com programming notes

2011 07 12 cartoon

A few quick programming notes, now that things have slowed down a bit following Thailand’s recent election.

The vote attracted global attention, and Newley.com has some new readers.

So here’s a reminder of what you can find here, and as well as a few ways to connect with me elsewhere.

Recent work

  • You can find links to some of my recent stories on my Journalism page.

    I’ve also started linking to many of my pieces on the right side of every page, under the “selected recent stories” heading.

Elsewhere on Newley.com

  • The Popular Posts page contains some greatest hits, organized by topic.
  • I maintain a list of Thailand-related blogs and other sites I like on my Links page.

Get in touch

  • The About/Contact page contains my bio and lists ways to get in touch. I’m always happy to hear from folks, and enjoy getting feedback — negative or positive — on the site.
  • My email address is newley AT gmail.com.
  • You can also get in touch on Twitter. I’m @newley.
  • All Newley.com posts can be found at: @newleydotcom.
  • And there’s a Newley.com Facebook page.

Subscribe via email or RSS

That’s it for now. Thanks, as ever, for reading.

(Cartoon via The New Yorker‘s Cartoonbank.com.)

Categories
Links

11 links

2011 06 28 learning in 2000

Some Thailand-related, some not:

  1. The Foxification of news: In the internet age, transparency may count for more than objectivity — The Economist
  2. ‘Page One’ Excerpt: How The New York Times learned to stop worrying and love the blog — Poynter.org
  3. Byliner: “Discover & discuss great reads by great writers.” — Byliner.com
  4. What’s Scrabble When You Can Play Novelist? — New York Times
  5. The mother of all tail risks: A US technical default would convulse markets. Nothing else is certain — The Economist
  6. Survival Thai: “Learn Thai the easy way with signs in the street” — www.survivalthai.com
  7. 5 Voyeuristic, Cross-Disciplinary Peeks Inside Great Creators’ Notebooks — brain pickings
  8. Healthfully ever after, or why marriage is good for you — PBS.org
  9. separated by a common language: “Observations on British and American English by an American linguist in the UK” — separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com
  10. For the Executive With Everything, a $230,000 Dog to Protect It — New York Times
  11. Image above: from the French National Library’s Visions de l’an 2000, prints from 1910 of what the world might look like in the year 2000. This image: how learning might work in the future. (Via James Fallows).
Categories
Thai politics

Suit filed against Yingluck for alleged help from banned politicians

I wanted to point out this WSJ story from Saturday, which notes that:

Critics of incoming Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her allies filed the first major legal case challenging their recent election victory, signaling the start of what could become a protracted effort to destabilize Thailand’s new government.

The case, filed Friday by the head of the legal team for Thailand’s outgoing ruling party, seeks to dissolve Ms. Yingluck’s victorious Puea Thai party for allegedly relying on campaign help from politicians previously banned from Thai politics. Chief among them is Thaksin Shinawatra…

(All emphasis mine.)

Categories
Thai politics

An unexpected Yingluck-related lede…

2011 07 11 yingluck noodles

…comes from Saturday’s Bangkok Post, which noted:

The EC is investigating an allegation that Pheu Thai’s potential candidate for premiership Yingluck Shinawatra violated election law when she cooked fried noodles and distributed it to the voters during a May 31 campaign stop in Nakhon Ratchasima province. But at first glance, it is likely she did nothing wrong.

(Emphasis mine.)

BP has some commentary.

It appears unlikely that anything will come of this alleged transgression. But just noting it for the record, given former PM Samak’s food-related firing in 2008.

(Image: Bangkok Post.)

Categories
Thai politics

My new GlobalPost story: Yingluck, women’s rights, and Thailand

I have a new story at GlobalPost. It’s called “Thailand: Is Yingluck a win for women’s rights?“

Categories
Thai politics

More on potential anti-Yingluck demonstrations

Reuters has more on potential anti-Yingluck demonstrations, which the WSJ mentioned earlier:

Days after Thailand voted for a new government led by the country’s first woman prime minister, a determined doctor with a knack for rallying crowds is pursuing legal action to bring her down.

Tul Sitthisomwong, a die-hard opponent of self-exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, accuses the billionaire’s sister and Prime Minister elect, Yingluck Shinawtra, of perjury and wants the courts to indict her before she takes office.

Categories
Thai politics

Thaksin as globetrotting trade envoy?

That’s what the Bangkok Post says today, quoting a Pheu Thai source:

The Pheu Thai Party is expected to appoint exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as a government trade envoy to promote Thai exports abroad, which will enable him to freely travel the world.

But Noppadon Patama, Thaksin’s lawyer, tells the WSJ that:

“Mr. Thaksin has never thought about taking on any official role, and Ms. Yingluck has no intention of appointing him.”

Categories
Thai politics

Anti-Yingluck demonstrations to begin next week?

Today’s WSJ says:

A group of die-hard anti-Thaksin activists is stepping up its campaign for authorities to charge Thailand’s new leader with perjury in a sign that tensions could resurface in one of Southeast Asia’s most volatile nations despite last weekend’s decisive election.

And:

Dr. Tul said in a telephone interview that his group, the Network of Citizen Volunteers Protecting the Land, will begin protesting at the headquarters of Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission on July 12.