Showing 1 - 10 of 18
Laying siege to the City of Angels
News, Suranand Vejjajiva, Published on 18/04/2018
» The appointment of Sakoltee Phattiyakul as deputy governor of Bangkok by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha through the use of Section 44 has been seen as a move by the regime to take control of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and pave a path towards securing votes in the capital for the election in the near future.
Parties jostle to extend the life of NCPO
News, Suranand Vejjajiva, Published on 11/04/2018
» Three groups of political players are on the move in setting up parties to extend the life of the National Council for Peace and Order (NPCO) and support Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha to continue as prime minister after the election. All three are working separately, but in essence are moving towards building leverage in the political numbers game.
Major parties in battle to repel NCPO attack
News, Suranand Vejjajiva, Published on 04/04/2018
» At the end of March, 97 political groups applied to be registered as political parties. Come April, public attention has turned to existing political parties whose party members are required to reconfirm their membership status. These are some of the steps the military regime under the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has taken to manipulate our politics ahead of the election next year.
Reform of the police force must serve people
News, Suranand Vejjajiva, Published on 23/05/2017
» A fresh "police reform" has recently been proposed by a special committee under the joint whip of the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) and the National Legislative Assembly (NLA). It, however, has drawn opposition from people's organisations who criticise the proposal for lacking concrete structural reforms.
Local governing bodies badly need reform
News, Suranand Vejjajiva, Published on 04/04/2017
» Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon recently sent up a trial balloon on the possibility of calling elections for local administration organisations before the general elections. His line of thought is that if the local elected bodies are in place before the national body, national politicians will not be able to manipulate local politicians during their poll campaign.
Playing with taxes could prove costly
News, Suranand Vejjajiva, Published on 21/03/2017
» ' In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes," Benjamin Franklin once wrote. However, as the Reaper is sure to collect the dead, governments may not always be able to do the same with taxes.
Unity bid doesn't tackle conflict's root causes
News, Suranand Vejjajiva, Published on 24/01/2017
» The week before last, the government renewed its reconciliation efforts. This time, it set up a new committee under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
Paving over the cracks in reconciliation
News, Suranand Vejjajiva, Published on 17/01/2017
» After two and a half years without serious and meaningful efforts to reconcile political conflict, the military government is vowing to press ahead with its national reform and development strategy. But the regime will find it hard to achieve meaningful reconciliation if it is not committed to a return to full democracy and applying the rule of law.
PM faces big decisions in cabinet revamp
News, Suranand Vejjajiva, Published on 13/12/2016
» As Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha prepares for a cabinet reshuffle, some political observers, including myself, watch with anxiety.
Shutting out parties is recipe for trouble
News, Suranand Vejjajiva, Published on 06/12/2016
» The gag order issued by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) after the 2014 coup which prohibits political gatherings of more than five people will be a key obstacle for parties when preparing for the next general election.