Showing 1-10 of 22 results
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Charter draft has checks, lacks balances
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/03/2015
» When political reforms themselves are reformed time and again, they can revert back to their pre-reform beginnings. This phenomenon appears to be afflicting Thailand's ongoing constitutional-drafting process, which is stuck in a circuitous time warp.
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Charter-drafting reset set to fuel tension
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 11/09/2015
» That the National Reform Council (NRC) scuttled the Constitution Drafting Committee's (CDC) draft charter last Sunday is akin to a political abortion, a wilful abandonment of a year-long process both bodies were set up to complete in tandem.
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Charter ruling shows political progress
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/11/2013
» The Constitution Court's ruling this week to reject parliament's draft charter amendment to change the Senate from a roughly half-appointed to a fully elected chamber marks another crucial juncture in Thailand's grinding political transformation.
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A well-intentioned but problematic charter
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 24/04/2015
» Thailand's draft constitution of 2015 appears to be full of good intentions that may end up in futility.
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The return of constitutional blackmail
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 05/02/2016
» While the second draft constitution is thoroughly dissected and digested in the weeks ahead, for all of its anti-corruption strengths and anti-democratic shortcomings, its broad contours are clear. The current draft that is being set up for a referendum this July builds on its precursor from 2007 in restricting and rolling back the democratic direction of the 1997 constitution, harking back to earlier versions from 1978 and 1991. There is constitutional continuity in Thailand's charter drafting -- but it is going back in time in a democratic regression.
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Can we have 'Premocracy 2.0' in the 2010s?
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 01/04/2016
» As preparations are under way for Thailand's second-ever referendum on Aug 7, the completed draft constitution will now be dissected and digested in myriad ways, although public reactions and views will be constrained by the military-backed authorities. Because of a lack of public input and feedback for what is supposed to be a charter for the Thai people, tensions will likely mount ahead of the referendum, marked by the military government's escalating repression.
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Vote prospects in Thailand's long transition
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 05/08/2016
» Thailand's second-ever referendum on its second consecutive military-inspired constitution in 10 years should be a foregone conclusion. The government of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha that seized power in May 2014 has deployed all instruments and organs of the state from village headmen and upcountry teachers to the entire bureaucratic apparatus and official media propaganda to ensure the charter's passage. The Referendum Act, a law that effectively prohibits open and inclusive debate and public discussion, has been enacted for good measure to keep the draft constitution on course. Yet what appears like a one-way state-sponsored campaign for referendum approval may boomerang into a rejection owing to several factors.
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The fault line that polarises Thai politics
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 07/04/2023
» With all of Thailand's contesting political parties lined up behind populist policy platforms ahead of the general election on May 14, it is not readily obvious what sets them apart.
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Thai charter changes without reform
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 25/06/2021
» In view of the ongoing parliamentary debate about constitutional revisions, it has become the consensus that the 2017 charter is flawed and in need of change. At issue is the nature and extent of charter amendments. What is being proposed can be categorised into three positions -- those favouring amendments without fundamental reforms and others who want reforms with all necessary amendments, with some advocating measures in between. Owing to the powers of incumbency, status quo proponents aligned with the coalition government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha are likely to carry the day, thereby stoking political tensions to manifest on the horizon.
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'Watch scandal' now and amnesty bill then
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 02/02/2018
» The gnawing scandal over Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon's dubious and expensive watches has become tantamount to the amnesty bill that upended the previous elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra, who is now on the run after being overthrown and subsequently convicted over the rice-pledging scheme. These two cases are ostensibly different but in fact they both spell the beginning of an inexorable end.
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