Showing 1 - 10 of 55
People's Party eyes future despite hurdle
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 07/09/2024
» The People's Party did not win the Ratchaburi provincial administration organisation (PAO) chairman election last Sunday. However, this is not a major loss for the party, given the substantial increase in voter support it got for its candidate, almost threefold from the previous poll. Going forward, the party has good prospects for next year's local election and the general election of 2027.
Senate voting brings alarm
Oped, Editorial, Published on 24/07/2024
» The outcome of the Senate Speaker's selection on Tuesday has only substantiated fears that the Senate will not be as independent as it should be after Sen Mongkol Surasajja, a former Buri Ram governor who is reported to have links with the Bhumjaithai Party (BJT), was voted in with an overwhelming majority of 159 from the 200-seat Senate.
Cues from Iran on who to vote for
News, Marc Champion, Published on 03/07/2024
» The opposition just won a first round of elections, forcing a runoff in which everything depends on where third-party votes go. No, not in France -- in Iran. You could be forgiven for missing it amid all the excitement over the advance of the French hard right, President Joe Biden's car crash debate in the US and the coming immolation of the UK's Conservative Party. Yet Iran's experience is worth attention, not least as a reminder of what to vote for and why. Iran, to recap, is having a snap contest to replace President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a May helicopter crash. Raisi was also being groomed to succeed the 85-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, the unelected post that -- as the title suggests -- matters most in the Islamic Republic.
D-Day for Pita, but change inevitable
Oped, Published on 12/07/2023
» Tomorrow will probably be the most decisive day in Thailand after nearly a decade of military rule. The key question on everyone’s lips is: Will the conservative forces allow the young leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP), Pita Limjaroenrat, to become the next prime minister? And the question which naturally follows is: If Mr Pita is blocked, what will happen? Will people go out to the streets in protest? Will soldiers be sent to disperse them? Will the violence of over ten years ago, which led to the military’s ouster of a civilian government installed by popular vote, return to Bangkok?
Senators still the biggest threat to Pita
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 12/06/2023
» The Election Commission has resolved unanimously by six votes to zero to reject three complaints challenging the qualifications of Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat to contest the May 14 general election as a party-list candidate on ground the complaints were not lodged within the legal time limit.
Road ahead for MFP full of uncertainty
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 29/05/2023
» Given the majority of 313 House seats out of 500 won by the coalition parties led by the Move Forward Party (MFP), Pita Limjaroenrat, that party's prime ministerial candidate, should rightfully become Thailand's 30th prime minister.
Fixing fiscal laws to have fair elections
Oped, Published on 10/05/2023
» As the election campaign heats up, political parties are fiercely competing to win votes by offering generous cash handouts, raising concerns about their impact on the country's fiscal discipline for the incoming administration.
EC is failing keen voters
Oped, Editorial, Published on 13/04/2023
» As of April 9, over 2.3 million eligible voters had registered for advance voting in the May 14 election. However, the number could have been much higher had the online registration system not crashed.
Last chance for the EC
Oped, Editorial, Published on 30/03/2023
» As preparations for the May 14 polls progress, all eyes are on the Election Commission (EC) amid doubts over the agency's neutrality. The EC is faced with a dilemma similar to that which arose during the 2019 polls, when its organisation of the election was riddled with complaints and allegations.
EC needs to shape up
Oped, Editorial, Published on 15/02/2023
» The National Anti-Corruption Commission's (NACC) ruling on Monday that found Nat Laosisawakul, former secretary-general of the Election Commission (EC), negligent over the late arrival of 1,542 advance votes from Thai citizens in New Zealand before the March 24, 2019 election, has shone a light on the performance of the EC and its effect on the health of democracy in Thailand.