In Media
The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has called for "New Politics," an obscure proposal that is stirring heated debate in the country.
While details of the proposal have yet to be made public, the PAD is apparently opposed to the current parliamentary and electoral systems, claiming they cannot serve the best interests of the country.
Under the "New Politics," 30% of members of parliament would come from elections, and the rest would be chosen from various occupations and associations. It also calls for military intervention if the country's stability and sovereignty are threatened.
This proposal will take the country back 76 years. There's nothing new about it at all. When constitutional monarchy was established in 1932, the coup-makers set up a parliament filled with an equal number of elected and appointed members. They declared that the number of appointed MPs would be reduced when people were better educated.
The constitution of 1978, criticised as a "half-baked charter," allowed for an equal number of appointed and elected senators, who had the same status and authority as members of the Lower House of Parliament.
Our parliamentary system is not perfect, and the same is true with the electoral system. But good progress has been made over the years in terms of participatory politics. It is the duty of all Thais to strengthen and protect independent organisations such as the Election Commission, which can counter-balance the powers of the elected members of parliament. Judicial powers and participatory politics that involve a large section of the Thai electorate must also be strengthened for the progress of our political system.
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