King endorses decree for poll 15th October

[wowpow]

Urges fair, orderly election on date now set for Oct 15
Bangkok Post reporters

His Majesty the King has endorsed a royal decree setting the general election date for Oct 15 while also attaching a letter calling for fair and orderly polls. The royal endorsement of the government's proposed polling date came on Thursday, before the King underwent an operation to treat lumbar spinal stenosis at Siriraj Hospital. The decree, published in the Royal Gazette yesterday, will take effect on Aug 24, allowing fresh elections to take place within 60 days of the royal decree coming into force. Government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee said the King also attached a note, which was unprecedented, to explain his reasons for signing the decree. ''His Majesty wishes the country to return to order quickly and wants to see the elections proceed in a fair and orderly fashion,'' he said.

The decree was hailed by political observers as a way to put an end to the political uncertainty, but it also seemed to intensify calls for action against the Election Commission (EC). Saiyud Kerdphol, of the People's Network for Elections of Thailand (P-Net), called on the Criminal Court to take drastic action against the remaining commissioners to allow the Supreme Court to name a new EC panel. He said the public had lost faith in the EC and wanted to see a fresh body come in to supervise the coming elections.

The court is expected to hand down a ruling in a malfeasance case relating to the April 2 elections on July 25.

Prayad Hongthongkham, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said as long as the EC stayed on, political problems would not go away. But he welcomed the elections, saying the sooner they came the better. ''The further the elections are delayed, the more the damage will be to the country,'' he said.....

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Thaksin 'to take a break after election' NATTAYA CHETCHOTIROS & AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will take a break from politics and not accept the prime ministership after the Oct 15 election, said a highly-placed source in the Thai Rak Thai party yesterday. The source's remarks came as government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee said Mr Thaksin would stand as Thai Rak Thai's number-one party-list candidate in the poll. The source insisted that the party leader would take a break from politics after the election.

''However, the issue could not be officially announced as the party feared it could jeopardise the party's election campaign and Thai Rak Thai supporters' confidence,'' he said.

The comments came after the government announced that a royal decree had set the election for Oct 15. A cabinet minister said an opinion poll would be conducted to check the popularity rating of all Thai Rak Thai deputy party leaders to see who among them is the most suitable choice for the party leadership during Mr Thaksin's absence from politics. ...................

MCOT

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Democrat party affirms it will contest Oct 15 election
SONGKHLA, July 21 (TNA) - Thailand's main opposition Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva Friday restated his position that his party will field candidates to contest the general election scheduled for October 15.

Meanwhile, incumbent Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, caretaker of the ruling Thai Rak Thai party-led government, suggested that independent watchdogs be invited to monitor the polls.

The leaders of the two leading political parties responded following the official announcement Friday that a royal decree setting a new general election date had been endorsed by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, effective August 24, and that the new election will be held within 60 days of that date.

Mr. Abhisit, now visiting the troubled South, said the party's campaign in the upcoming election will focus on a "people's agenda" policy, which he said covers all areas of public benefit..............

Bangkok Post

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Perhaps the beginning of the end of the political crisis in happening.

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Is Thaksin standing as the number 1 party list candidate for the Thai Rak Thai party to ensure that they maintain the level of support from voters who like Thaksin. If he then stands down or backs away from politics for a while after the election, isn't that like cheating the electorate?

Or, could it possibly be that he remains the number 1 candidate, spreads the story he will stand down, Thai Rak Thai win the election (with no parties asking their voters not to turn out this time) and then Thaksin claims that due to the massive support and the personal requests for him to not step down, he humbly and dutifully accepts the role of Prime Minister!

Or am I reading too much into this?

Your guess is as good as anyones.
Thai politics gets even more bizarre.

Is Thaksin standing as the number 1 party list candidate for the Thai Rak Thai party to ensure that they maintain the level of support from voters who like Thaksin. If he then stands down or backs away from politics for a while after the election, isn't that like cheating the electorate?

Or, could it possibly be that he remains the number 1 candidate, spreads the story he will stand down, Thai Rak Thai win the election (with no parties asking their voters not to turn out this time) and then Thaksin claims that due to the massive support and the personal requests for him to not step down, he humbly and dutifully accepts the role of Prime Minister!

Or am I reading too much into this?

I do believe he is just lying, he fully intends to cling on to power. There is way too much at risk for him now.

Yes, a country suffers to save one bad man. Sounds like my country too.

[cottmann]

To make matters more interesting, it seems that Thailand's three election commissioners have been sentenced to four years in jail for mishandling April's poll. Bangkok's Criminal Court found the men guilty of flouting the law by allowing unqualified candidates to stand.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5212370.stm

Who will now organize the next election?