Tag: Yingluck Shinawatra

The Constitutional Court on Wednesday is expected to dissolve Thai Raksa Chart following the party's shock nomination of Princess Ubolratana which later failed. Some members of Thai Raska Chart came from the Pheu Thai party," he said. 'Total control' Parties connected to Thaksin, a telecoms tycoon, have dominated Thai politics for nearly two decades. Pheu Thai won the last elections in 2011 but was usurped by a coup three years later when the current military government - the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) - seized power from Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of Thaksin. Thai Rak Thai Party, Pheu Thai's predecessor, was dissolved in 2007 following the removal of Thaksin in a coup a year earlier. After taking control of the country and tightening the military's hold over politics, General Prayuth Chan-ocha is now trying to also become an elected prime minister through the Phalang Pracharat Party. The military will appoint a panel to select all 250 members of the upper house so only 126 elected members would need to support Prayuth as prime minister and extend the military's hold on power. Like Future Forward, Pheu Thai's "Next Gen" and the Democrats "New Dem" social media campaigns are targeting young Thai voters with videos and messages. The 22-year-old made headlines in 2016 after a public spat with Prayuth over his refusal to kowtow along with other university students before a statue of King Rama V. "I will go campaigning to get more people to vote," he told Al Jazeera. "I support the democratic camp.

"If the election is a trick on the people, Thais will march and not accept it." A military-drafted 2017 constitution aims to prevent the opposition Pheu Thai party from returning to office -- and ensure the army will continue to have a say in the country's future, no matter who wins the election. The rule of Prayut Chan-o-cha, the military coup leader turned prime minister, has been marked with increased repression, activists say. "Ongoing repression means that voters, political parties and the media in Thailand will have their arms twisted and their mouths gagged in the lead-up to the election." "He desperately wants to be the premiership, this is about his personal ambition," Pavin Chachavalpongpun, associate professor at Kyoto University's Center for Southeast Asian Studies, told CNN. The phrase 'history repeats itself' has taken on a new meaning in Thailand, a nation that has seen a dozen successful coups since 1932. His sister, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, was kicked out just before Prayut's coup in 2014, following six months of civil unrest and violent street protests. It appears a new Shinawatra generation could be about to make its mark. After the military lifted a ban on political campaigning in December, a host of smaller parties appeared, including Pheu Dharmma and Thai Raksa Chart, with many Pheu Thai members joining their ranks. "Now the atmosphere has changed and young people are more aware," 21-year-old LGBTQ activist and Future Forward party member Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree told CNN.

The toppled Thai opposition on Thursday called on the ruling junta to lift the ban on political activities as the countdown begins for the kingdom's first election since a 2014 coup. King Maha Vajiralongkorn endorsed two bills on Wednesday that clear the bureaucratic hurdles to a poll, which has been promised and delayed for years by the junta. An election is required to take place by May. Junta critics want to hold political gatherings, which have been banned since a coup four years ago toppled the Puea Thai government led by Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand's first female premier. "As the country heads to an election, we need to create a good atmosphere so that people can express their opinions." Pichai said that date is now increasingly likely. He cautioned the National Council for Peace Order (NCPO) -- the political name of the junta government -- against postponing it again. With the ban on politics still in place, junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha has spent months positioning himself for a potential run at the next election. For months he has criss-crossed the country promising economic development, wooing local politicians with promised investment and showing his softer side to the electorate with endless photo opportunities. On Thursday he hosted Japanese girl pop sensation "AKB48" at Government House, waving a pink day-glo stick to one of their smash hits and posing for photos.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn endorsed two bills on Wednesday that cleared the bureaucratic hurdles to a poll, which has been promised and delayed for years by the government. “We demand for the junta to lift the political activities ban as soon as possible,” said Pichai Naripthaphan, a former minister in Yingluck’s cabinet. Pichai said that date is now increasingly likely. He warned the National Council for Peace Order (NCPO) – the political name of the government – against postponing it again. Peua Thai is affiliated with the Shinawatra clan, a powerful and wealthy political family whose parties and proxies have won every Thai general election since 2001. Yingluck – and her older brother Thaksin – are living in exile to avoid prison after they were both convicted of corruption. With the ban on politics still in place, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has spent months positioning himself for a potential run in the next election. For months he has criss-crossed the country promising economic development, wooing local politicians with promises of investment and showing his softer side to the electorate with endless photo opportunities. On Thursday he hosted Japanese girl pop sensation AKB48 at Government House, waving a luminous pink stick to one of their smash hits and posing for photos. Flanked by a royalist, conservative Bangkok-centric establishment, Thailand’s military loathes the Shinawatras, accusing them of winning the hearts of the electorate with a toxic form of populist politics.

BANGKOK • Thailand's junta will lift a near four-year ban on political activity in June, an official said yesterday, as space for debate slowly expands in the kingdom with polls promised for next year. Political gatherings of five or more people have been outlawed since Thailand's army grabbed power in a May 2014 coup, booting Yingluck Shinawatra's elected government from power. The generals, who have repeatedly backtracked on promised returns to democracy, insist an election will be held "no later" than February 2019. Politicians have demanded that the ban be lifted, and critics accuse the junta of buying time to bolster the chances of new army-linked parties in the upcoming election. A defence ministry spokesman said the moratorium would soon be lifted, confirming comments the junta's No. 2 made to the local press on Thursday. "The initial plan is that the ban would be lifted in June so that newly set-up parties are ready," Lieutenant-General Kongcheep Tantravanich told Agence France-Presse. The restricted climate has left questions swirling about leadership shuffles in Thailand's biggest bloc - the toppled Pheu Thai party, which has dominated elections for a decade but has been repeatedly cut down by coups and court rulings. The exiled pair, former prime ministers and siblings Yingluck and Thaksin Shinawatra, made a rare public appearance at a book launch for a Japanese minister in Tokyo on Thursday. The next administration will also be straitjacketed by a "legally-binding" 20-year policy plan hatched by the junta.

Political gatherings of five or more people have been outlawed since Thailand's army grabbed power in a May 2014 coup, booting Yingluck Shinawatra's elected government from power. The generals, who have repeatedly backtracked on promised returns to democracy, insist an election will be held "no later" than February 2019. Yet while parties have been allowed to register in anticipation of the vote, they remain barred from discussing policy or meeting without junta permission. Politicians have demanded the ban is lifted, while critics accuse the junta of buying time to bolster the chances of new army-linked parties in the upcoming election. A defence ministry spokesman said the moratorium would soon be lifted, confirming comments the junta's number two made to the local press on Thursday. "While the big existing parties are already ready, the new parties need time... they will start their activities together in June," he added. The restricted climate has left questions swirling about leadership shuffles in Thailand's biggest bloc - the toppled Pheu Thai party, which has dominated elections for a decade but has been repeatedly cut down by coups and court rulings. The faction is officially without a leader after both of its figureheads were driven into self-exile in the wake of 2006 and 2014 coups. The exiled pair, former premiers and siblings Yingluck and Thaksin Shinawatra, made a rare public appearance at a book launch for a Japanese minister in Tokyo on Thursday. Analysts say both leaders are unlikely to return to Thai soil anytime soon after being convicted of graft charges in absentia.