Category: Thai politics

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Thai politics

Bangkok Post: Ex-Pheu Thai MP shot

2011 05 11 pt shot

Today’s Bangkok Post says an ex-Pheu Thai MP was shot last night but survived. The paper says the attack raises concerns there could be “more violence in the lead-up to the July 3 election”:

Former Pheu Thai MP for Samut Prakan Pracha Prasopdee was shot last night in what is seen as the first election-related violence since the House dissolution on Monday.

Mr Pracha was shot in the back at about 9pm in the Phra Pradaeng area while he was driving his Toyota Camry to Phra Samut Chedi district after helping a local politician campaign for the provincial administration election.

Two men riding a motorcycle approached the right side of his car at Phra Pradaeng intersection and shot at him five times.

The bullets hit his back and pierced his right shoulder while causing minor damage to the car.

Mr Pracha was rushed to Bang Pakok1 Hospital.

Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said Mr Pracha was in a safe condition.

The incident was the first attack on a politician since the royal decree on the House dissolution took effect yesterday, raising concerns there would be more violence in the lead-up to the July 3 election.

(Emphasis mine.)

(Image: Bangkok Post.)

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Thai politics Thailand

A Facebook feud between Korn and Nattawud

Today’s Bangkok Post on a Facebook feud between Thailand’s Finance Minister, Korn Chatikavanij, and Nattawut Saikua, a red shirt leader:

It all started simply enough with a post on Facebook by the finance minister after taking his wife out to an innocent dinner at at unnamed restaurant on Thong Lor.

He was told that he had been seated at a table that had just been vacated by Nattawut, prompting a little swipe on his FB page remarking that he was amused how the person who called himself prai (peasant) actually had the same kind of lifestyle as the person he accused of being ammart (elite).

Within a matter of seconds, there was a response, and by Monday morning, he had received over 800 comments and almost 6,000 “likes”.

On Sunday morning, Nattawut posted on his own Facebook page how his dinner the previous night had become an online issue.

“Listen, Korn, because there are people like you that oppression still exists. Why do you have to define prai as being poor, stupid and accepting their downtrodden plight. What can’t prai eat at the same restaurant as the capitalists? Long live the people!”

(Emphasis mine.)

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Thai politics Thailand

Thailand elections: Looking ahead to July 3

2011 05 10 abhisit elex

More on Thailand’s elections, which are set for July 3:

The Christian Science Monitor says the election is a “high-stakes contest in a shaky democracy”:

Observers say that the bitter rivalry between political groups, and the risk that neither would accept defeat, has increased the stakes.

The Bangkok Post points out that “A Pheu Thai victory does not guarantee a Pheu Thai government”:

Without a landslide victory, Pheu Thai has little chance of forming the next government even if it wins the July 3 election.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva officially announced the election date and House dissolution via state television last night after a royal decree to dissolve the House of representatives was endorsed by His Majesty the King.

It was widely believed by several parties that the opposition Pheu Thai would win the election with the highest number of MP seats among contenders.

However, questions remain as to whether it can successfully form the next government.

Elsewhere, Bloomberg notes the risk for equities:

“The outlook for Thai equities will be a bit risky after the election because there will be more uncertainty in forming the coalition,” said Kiattisak Jenwipakul, head of research at SCB Securities Co., a unit of Siam Commercial Bank Pcl. “Domestic spending statistically jumps during the campaign because people are more upbeat and cash from politicians channels through the system.”

The Financial Times also has more on the economic implications of the coming election.

And finally, a Reuters “fact box” says some wonder whether an election will actually happen:

The election may not actually take place. Conspiracy theories abound that influential figures may be plotting to derail the poll by engineering judicial or military intervention. Some fear de facto power could return to Thaksin, who would seek to overhaul a power structure dominated by his political enemies. A Puea Thai government could scrap some of the previous government’s policies, initiate top-level purges within key institutions like the judiciary, police and military and perhaps seek an amnesty allowing Thaksin to return home and resume his political career without serving a two-year prison sentence for graft.

(All emphasis mine.)

(Image: Bangkok Post.)

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Thai politics Thailand

It’s official: Thailand elections set for July 3

The AP says:

Thailand’s king has approved a decree dissolving the lower house of Parliament and setting general elections for July 3, the government spokesman said Monday.

Here’s the nitty-gritty:

The polls will elect 500 members of the lower house, an increase of 20 from the outgoing chamber.

The elections are expected to be fiercely contested between Abhisit’s ruling Democrat Party and the main opposition Puea Thai Party associated with Thaksin.

The Democrats held 172 seats in the outgoing lower house compared to 186 for Puea Thai, which won the most seats in the last elections in 2007 and formed a government that ruled for about a year.

However, controversial court rulings and militant anti-Thaksin demonstrations helped Abhisit’s Democrats take power by wooing enough lawmakers to join a new ruling coalition.

Polls suggest that Puea Thai will win the most seats, but probably not a majority. If so, the balance of power will lie with smaller parties whose allegiances are often won by the number of Cabinet seats they are offered in a coalition government.

The WSJ has more analysis:

Political analysts say the election will be among the most important this key Southeast Asian economy has ever faced and could set the political tone in the country for years to come, determining whether it gets back on track after years of instability or possibly faces renwed unrest.

Here’s more from Reuters, the BBC, and AFP.

And finally, a technical note: It appears that Abhisit is transitioning from his @PM_Abhisit Twitter handle to @Abhisit_DP. (The “DP” presumably stands for Democrat Party.)

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Thai politics Thailand

Thai PM: new elections should take place July 3

Thai PM Abhisit told Reuters yesterday that new elections should take place on July 3:

Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva expects to hold general elections on July 3 in the politically polarised Southeast Asian country, he told Reuters on Sunday.

“The election should be on the third of July,” Abhisit told Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders in Jakarta.

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Thai politics Thailand

WSJ: Abhisit says he’ll dissolve House by Friday

A Wall Street Journal story today:

Thai Prime Minister to Call Election

BANGKOK—Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he plans to dissolve the House of Representatives by Friday and call what he described as a landmark election for the Southeast Asian country, which has been plagued by deep and sometimes deadly political divisions.

The piece also includes a ten minute interview with Abhisit, embedded below:

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Thai politics Thailand

Al Jazeera: “Thai-Cambodia clashes continue despite truce”

Al Jazeera English today:

Thai-Cambodia clashes continue despite truce

A brief cease-fire between Thailand and Cambodia has broken down, shattering hopes for a quick end to the border conflict as the two sides exchanged fire for an eighth day and the death toll rose to 16.

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Thai politics Thailand

AP: “Thailand, Cambodia cease-fire reached after week”

The AP today:

Thailand, Cambodia cease-fire reached after week

PHANOM DONGRAK, Thailand – Thai and Cambodian military commanders agreed to a cease-fire Thursday after seven days of artillery duels killed 15 people, Cambodia said. Thailand did not immediately confirm it, but the contested border was quiet most of the day.

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Thai politics Thailand

WSJ editorial: “Thailand Going Rogue”

Just briefly, following the story I pointed out yesterday, here’s more from the Wall Street Journal. This is an editorial today on the ongoing Thailand-Cambodia clashes and Thai domestic politics:

Thailand Going Rogue

Fighting over the disputed territory surrounding the Preah Vihear Temple along the Thai-Cambodia border resumed last Friday, with both sides trading artillery fire and accusations of targeting civilian villages throughout the weekend. The Associated Press reports 12 soldiers confirmed dead.

The world may never know which side started the latest clash, since Thailand continues to resist allowing international observers to monitor the area. And both countries deserve some blame for stirring the pot at various times. Nevertheless, it has become increasingly clear that the Thai military is doing nothing to ease the tension.

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Thai politics Thailand

WSJ on Thailand-Cambodia clashes and Thai elections

Today’s WSJ:

Thai-Cambodia Border Dispute Adds to Election Worries

A simmering border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia has killed at least 10 soldiers over the past three days and also threatens to complicate a heated political environment in Bangkok, where rumors are swirling about military coups or other ways to block planned elections.

And:

The conflict also might complicate Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s plans to dissolve Thailand’s parliament next month and pave the way for elections to be held as soon as June. The 46-year-old, Oxford-educated economist is counting on the vote to end five years of instability and violence and enable Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy after Indonesia, to build on its rapid recovery from the global economic slump.

But some analysts say there is still a risk the vote might not take place at all.

(Emphasis mine.)