THAILAND ELECTION 2018 MAGATHREAD!!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > C-SPAM > THAILAND ELECTION 2018 MAGATHREAD!!

mila kunis: Jun 10, 2011

quote:

With the assistance of a military coup, two party dissolutions, a new constitution, an activist judiciary, royal backing, an ultra-nationalist crisis, six months of escalating street provocation, military insubordination, and an economically disastrous airport shutdown, the Democrat Party now seems to be within striking distance of forming Thailand�s next government�

the judiciary poo poo was the exact playbook they followed in brazil, there's so many parallels with lula and thaksin

this was what they used to nail him lmao

quote:

The Constitutional Court ruled that the prime minister had violated conflict-of-interest rules by continuing to appear on a TV cookery programme, Tasting and Grumbling, even though he received at most only nominal payments. It was a bizarre and clearly partisan decision (expertly dissected by Verapat Pariyawong in his Harvard thesis Three Course Recipe for the Court�s Cookery) that made it clearer than ever that the judiciary had become a tool of the royalist elite to thwart the democratic will of the majority.

Thailand is more interesting than i thought and has way more going on than sexpats and elon musk feuds.

# ? Dec 31, 2018 08:17

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 02:37

Dreddout: Oct 1, 2015; You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

someone buy Rama X an account he seems chill

# ? Dec 31, 2018 19:32

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

mila kunis posted:

does Thailand have a formal aristocracy outside of the royals?

iirc it was technically abolished in the 1932 revolution but there are still tons of old noble families around who own most of the country. also the chakri dynasty has been around since the 1700s and before the 20th century each king would have tons and tons of kids (chulalongkorn had like 80 or something) with multiple wives so you have a saudi situation where there are thousands of people tangentially related to the royal family.

e: there are 141 cadet houses of the chakri dynasty, lol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakri_dynasty#Cadet_houses

Sheng-Ji Yang has issued a correction as of 19:41 on Dec 31, 2018

# ? Dec 31, 2018 19:32

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

mila kunis posted:

the judiciary poo poo was the exact playbook they followed in brazil, there's so many parallels with lula and thaksin

this was what they used to nail him lmao

Thailand is more interesting than i thought and has way more going on than sexpats and elon musk feuds.

yeah thai politics is extremely interesting. a consequence i think of being one of the few non-european countries that avoided any real colonization or radical revolutionary changes.

zenjournalist blog is good, but id recommend his book A Kingdom in Crisis which is basically that blog post expanded and a bit more organized.

# ? Dec 31, 2018 19:38

mila kunis: Jun 10, 2011

totally spontaneous citizen uprising everyone, nothing weird here at all

# ? Jan 1, 2019 00:27

mila kunis: Jun 10, 2011

lmfao

quote:

They also insulted Yingluck for her alleged lack of intelligence, but this also backfired. The prime minister has degrees from Thai and U.S. universities, while Bhumibol, Sirikit and Vajiralongkorn don�t have a single degree between them.

Moreover, the protesters seemed incapable of getting their English-language slogans and propaganda right, which undermined their mockery of Yingluck�s proficiency in the language. None of the protest leaders appear to have deigned to get a native speaker to check their material, presumably thinking themselves far too clever to need any help writing grammatically correct English. The �People Democratic Force to Overthrow Thaksinism� couldn�t even manage to get its own name right in English, a rather glaring blunder that was also committed by one of the most popular anti-Shinawatra Facebook groups, �Dislike Yingluck for Concentration Citizen�. (A Facebook conversation I had with a Thai supporter of the group trying to explain its bizarre name went viral in May.) The hypocrisy of ultra-royalists mocking Yingluck�s educational credentials in pidgin English recalled an infamous banner hoisted aloft by an earlier incarnation of the anti-Shinawatra protest movement, the �multi-coloured shirts�, when they confronted pro-Thaksin protesters on Silom Road in April 2010, mocking the supposedly ignorant Red Shirts as �uneducate people�:

# ? Jan 1, 2019 00:32

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

mila kunis posted:

totally spontaneous citizen uprising everyone, nothing weird here at all

https://www.newmandala.org/white-masks-red-masks-and-royalist-communists/

300 former Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) fighters, cadres and their families who joined the Sanam Luang protesters marched in protest against the government to Government House, wearing CPT uniforms, and carrying a picture of the King.

# ? Jan 1, 2019 00:33

mila kunis: Jun 10, 2011

from reading that blog (really good btw) it really looks like the left needs to move the seat of government out of bangkok and surround themselves with loyal militias or this poo poo is gonna happen over and over

# ? Jan 1, 2019 00:39

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

lmao

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/1603486/pheu-thai-seeks-pact-with-democrats

quote:

The Pheu Thai Party might not win enough seats in the next election and has offered to join forces with arch rivals the Democrats in forming the next government, according to comments made by a core member of the party.

The high-level member, who did not wish to be identified, made the comments during a visit to China by leading Pheu Thai members, including Khunying Sudarat Keyurapan who heads the party's strategy committee.

The core leader said the new electoral system, under which large parties are predicted to win fewer seats than in previous polls, is not conducive to Pheu Thai having enough strength in parliament to have its candidate become prime minister.

The Pheu Thai member said the party stands ready to invite the Democrat Party, which could win between 80-100 seats, to join it in forming a coalition government.

Pheu Thai, the Democrats and their allies must have at least 375 seats between them in order for a Pheu Thai-nominated candidate to become prime minister.

A vote in parliament for the next prime minister from among candidates nominated by the political parties, will also involve 250 senators selected by the National Council for Peace and Order. A total of 750 parliamentarians will vote for a prime minister; 500 MPs and 250 senators.

The core Pheu Thai member says the party has floated an offer for Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to be parliament president and allocated some 'top-grade' ministries to the Democrat Party in return for its support for a Pheu Thai-nominated prime ministerial candidate, reported to be Khunying Sudarat.

The core member said high-ranking Pheu Thai and Democrat members have been in talks to discuss the possibility of forging an alliance.

There were news reports of a discussion between key Pheu Thai figure Pokin Polakul and Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva about the two parties cooperating. However, both later denied the reports.

Meanwhile, Mr Abhisit admitted Monday that winning more than 140 seats in the next poll will be considered a success for his party while reiterating that he will quit as leader if the party garners less than 100 MPs.

Mr Abhisit said Monday the party won 160 seats in the previous election. But he admitted the Democrats could well end up with fewer MPs due to the new electoral system that is being introduced in the Feb 24 election.

Based on the 9.8 million votes it gained in the last election to be calculated in relation to the mixed-member proportional representation voting system being applied, the party estimates it should win about 140 seats in the next poll.

If the party wins more than 140, it would be deemed an electoral success. But it would not be totally unexpected if the party take less on account of stiffer competition than in the last election.

"I'm confident the Democrats will not get below 100," he said, adding he would resign from the party if that happened.

Mr Abhisit said the Democrats are offering a break from the status quo. The party has formulated policies in keeping with the changing circumstances in the country and it is offering real answers to the problems the public is facing, he added.

i didnt realize the entirely military appointed senate vote was included for the next prime minister, which is hilarious.

# ? Jan 1, 2019 21:11

mila kunis: Jun 10, 2011

what a complete joke of a system. Lol the american ngo "freedom house" rates thai political rights as "6/7"

# ? Jan 1, 2019 21:19

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

mila kunis posted:

what a complete joke of a system. Lol the american ngo "freedom house" rates thai political rights as "6/7"

thais are so free that if they do not believe in a monarchy they have to flee the country and then get hunted down and killed anyways

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/opinion/2018/12/29/opinion-fear-and-foreboding-in-laos/

(also you can tell the most radical red shirts because theyre usually old communist party members who wear their cool hat)

# ? Jan 1, 2019 21:35

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

The election date will likely be delayed from Feb 24 to avoid having poll-related activities overlapping with those of the coronation ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said Thursday.

In any case, the poll will be held no later than the May 9 deadline, he said ahead of a meeting with the Election Commission to discuss the election date.

Mr Wissanu refused to say whether the government had ordered the EC to delay the Feb 24 poll date. Reporters pressed him on this issue and he declined to answer.

Under the constitution, the general election must be held within 150 days of the constitution's organic law governing the election of MPs taking effect on Dec 11 last year, or by May 9.

However, elections must be held on a Sunday. The last Sunday within the 150-day limit is May 5.

lol

# ? Jan 4, 2019 08:22

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

as part of the upcoming election, the junta relegalized political activity, including protests. this might have been a bad idea, considering they are now trying to delay the election again. the first red shirt protests have started up in bangkok

https://thediplomat.com/2019/01/is-thailands-election-going-to-be-delayed-yet-again/

# ? Jan 10, 2019 00:17

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

gonna bump the thread only im posting in to say that elections were of course moved, and are now " " "firmly" " " set for march.

https://www.voanews.com/a/five-years-after-coup-thai-election-date-set-for-late-march/4758401.html

# ? Jan 30, 2019 23:16

get that OUT of my face: Feb 10, 2007

the thai punk rock scene ain't havin it

# ? Jan 31, 2019 00:37

Goatse James Bond: Mar 28, 2010; If you see me posting please remind me that I have Charlie Work in the reports forum to do instead

Sheng-Ji Yang posted:

gonna bump the thread only im posting in to say that elections were of course moved, and are now " " "firmly" " " set for march.

https://www.voanews.com/a/five-years-after-coup-thai-election-date-set-for-late-march/4758401.html

I, for one, trust in the king's wisdom.

# ? Jan 31, 2019 03:36

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

get that OUT of my face posted:

the thai punk rock scene ain't havin it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZvzvLiGUtw

# ? Jan 31, 2019 03:39

Xelkelvos: Dec 19, 2012

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47167378

quote:

The sister of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has joined the race to be the country's next prime minister.

Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Varnavadi, 67, will stand for a party loyal to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, according to registration papers.

Traditionally the Thai royal family stays out of politics, so this is an unprecedented move.

Thailand's election is scheduled to take place on 24 March.

The princess is the eldest sister of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and has registered for the Thai Raksa Chart party.

# ? Feb 8, 2019 04:03

Lawman 0: Aug 17, 2010

Xelkelvos posted:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47167378

just ripping that mask off

# ? Feb 8, 2019 04:05

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

Xelkelvos posted:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47167378

wow lmao this is out of nowhere

# ? Feb 8, 2019 04:10

Norton the First: Dec 4, 2018; by Fluffdaddy

Xelkelvos posted:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47167378

Of all the countries with hosed up pseudo-democracies, the US is my favorite. But Thailand is a surprisingly strong challenger.

# ? Feb 8, 2019 04:10

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

shes not actually running as pheu thai's leader, but one of the new spinoffs that is basically aligned with them/thaksin just in case the government bans pheu thai. i dont see her actually becoming the pm, even if pheu thai wins. tbh i wouldnt be surprised if this isnt just thaksin cutting her a big check for some royal shine.

when i first read the headline i thought it was sirindhorn for a second, who joining the race would have changed everything as she is very popular, certainly more so than the king. i dont know much about Ubolratana tbh, shes not that big a deal and never really has been involved in politics afaik.

# ? Feb 8, 2019 04:17

Norton the First: Dec 4, 2018; by Fluffdaddy

Sheng-Ji Yang posted:

when i first read the headline i thought it was sirindhorn for a second, who joining the race would have changed everything as she is very popular, certainly more so than the king. i dont know much about Ubolratana tbh, shes not that big a deal and never really has been involved in politics afaik.

It's such a fun precedent to set, though. Minor royals joining the free-for-all makes for good viewing.

# ? Feb 8, 2019 04:50

C-Euro: Mar 20, 2010; Soiled Meat

Oh hey how did I not notice this thread earlier, my wife and her family are Thai and I was there less than two months ago AMA

My wife doesn't know a lot about Thai politics outside of royal family drama since she's lived in the US since 2006, I should show her this thread.

# ? Feb 8, 2019 05:06

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

https://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish/status/1093744351623053312

quote:

Prominent leaders of the royalist camp woke up Friday to what proved a rude awakening for some: Ubolratana Mahidol, the oldest child of the late King Bhumibol, is now the prime minister candidate for a party long accused of undermining the monarchy � a possibility many disregarded just last night.

�This is all fake news,� Sermsuk Kasitipradit wrote Thursday in response to swirling rumors about Ubolratana�s nomination. �It�s fake news. No one is nominating her.�

Sermsuk, a former editor of The Nation newspaper who commands a large online following, wrote this morning that he had to acknowledge the news.

�This is a long movie,� Sermsuk wrote to his followers, many of whom criticized former leader Thaksin Shinawatra for �drawing� the royal family into politics.

Chulcherm Yugala, a distant relative of the late King Bhumibol, had also dismissed the rumors as nonsense.

�Nonsense. This country is getting very imaginative,� Chulcherm wrote last night. He has yet to post any mea culpa.

Popular Thaksin critic and hardline royalist Therdsak Jiamkijwattana had likewise slammed those spreading rumors for sowing �confusion.�

After Ubolratana�s acceptance of the nomination was confirmed, Therdsak posted a poem attributed to a famed monk who prophesied that a �lady on a white horse� would rescue Thailand in its darkest moment.

Their surprise is a telling sign of how tightly the Thaksin faction has kept word of its checkmate move secret to even those in the palace�s inner circle.

It was also a media-made moment of validation for Thaksin, who has long battled suspicions from the royalist faction that he seeks to overthrow the monarchy. When a photo of Thaksin and Ubolratana watching the FIFA World Cup in Russia emerged on social media last year, many royalists believed it was a forgery.

lol

# ? Feb 8, 2019 06:52

Jose: Jul 24, 2007; Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster and writer

https://twitter.com/MuireannO_C/status/1093466155988275202

# ? Feb 8, 2019 14:19

Ramrod Hotshot: May 30, 2003

Imagine if British royal politics were this dramatic

https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/status/1093901287228346368

# ? Feb 8, 2019 17:49

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

Ramrod Hotshot posted:

Imagine if British royal politics were this dramatic

https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/status/1093901287228346368

What, like the husband of the monarch having the security services murder his former daughter-in-law because she was going to marry a Muslim? Allegedly.

# ? Feb 8, 2019 18:12

Sheng-Ji Yang: Mar 5, 2014

Ramrod Hotshot posted:

Imagine if British royal politics were this dramatic

https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/status/1093901287228346368

"Involvement of a high-ranking member of the royal family in politics, in whatever way, is considered an act that defies the nation's traditions, customs and culture, and therefore is considered extremely inappropriate."

:ironicat: