Make me your Homepage
    left corner left corner
    China Daily Website

    Thai election body urges vote delay

    Updated: 2014-01-27 19:25
    ( Agencies)

    Thai election body urges vote delay

    An anti-government protester holds a placard during a rally in Bangkok January 27, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

    NOT BACKING DOWN

    In their latest comments, neither the government nor the protesters showed any sign of backing down.

    "We have to press ahead with the Feb 2 election ... A postponement would be futile and would only give independent organisations more time to target the government," Interior Minister Jarupong Ruangsuwan, also head of the ruling Puea Thai Party, said.

    Last week the government declared a state of emergency that would give it sweeping powers to curb the protests using the police, but it has so far shown no appetite for a crackdown and the marches through the capital have continued.

    On Sunday, protesters closed off most of the polling booths set up in Bangkok for advance voting, though the Election Commission said voting went ahead in 292 of the 375 electoral areas nationwide.

    Yingluck called the Feb 2 election in the hope of confirming her hold on power, and would almost certainly win by a large margin.

    Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy prime minister, has rejected the election outright. In a speech to demonstrators on Sunday night he appealed to the military to "protect innocent people who fight with their hands".

    On Monday, he said his "Bangkok Shutdown" movement would not accede to government requests to free up access to ministries and state agencies that they have blockaded.

    About 2.16 million people have registered for early polling in the country, out of 49 million eligible voters.

    Election official Somchai said even a delay of one month might not be enough to resolve the political deadlock, but waiting too long would leave the caretaker government unable to administer the country properly.

    He said the commission did not agree with protesters' plans for an unelected "people's council" to take over the government.

    "This is not the democratic way of doing things ... I don't think Suthep's reforms, within the time frame he gives, are possible."

    EIGHT YEARS OF CONFLICT

    The protests are the latest chapter in a political conflict that has gripped Thailand for eight years. There is growing talk it could turn into civil war and draw in the military.

    Paul Chambers, director of research at the Institute of South East Asia Affairs in northern Chiang Mai, said Thailand might have to settle on a decentralised form of administration, with different regions given broader sway to pursue their own policies.

    Sunday's killing, Chambers said, reflects "the growing tit-for-tat" between the two sides.

    "It is a dangerous trend, a harbinger symptomatic of the potential inception of civil war -- or a future clash between police and army that could lead to a coup," he said.

    "There are growing perceptions among people on each side that to avert civil war it might be necessary to regionally decentralise Thailand such that there is one country, two democracies ... united only under the Kingdom of Thailand."

    Yingluck's government led the country through a relatively peaceful period between 2011 and 2013 until a misstep by her Puea Thai Party in November, when it tried to force through an amnesty bill.

    That would have let her brother return as a free man, despite the 2008 jail sentence that he says was politically motivated.

     
    Hot Topics
    The Party vowed on Wednesday to fight corruption firmly and to maintain its "high-handed posture" in the next five years.
    ...
    ...
    无码国产伦一区二区三区视频| 久久国产高清字幕中文| 亚洲精品成人无码中文毛片不卡| 精品国产V无码大片在线看| 无码人妻精品一区二| 亚洲AV永久无码精品水牛影视 | 免费无码黄网站在线看| 久久无码AV中文出轨人妻| 无码国产色欲XXXX视频| 中文字幕无码AV波多野吉衣| 婷婷综合久久中文字幕| 爽到高潮无码视频在线观看| 亚洲V无码一区二区三区四区观看 亚洲爆乳精品无码一区二区三区 亚洲爆乳无码一区二区三区 | 久久Av无码精品人妻系列 | 亚洲国产成人精品无码区在线观看| 中文字幕7777| 国产无码网页在线观看| 日韩丰满少妇无码内射| 成人午夜精品无码区久久| 日韩中文久久| 天堂新版8中文在线8| 无码人妻少妇久久中文字幕蜜桃| 国产免费久久久久久无码| 国产AV无码专区亚洲AV男同| 无码人妻少妇久久中文字幕蜜桃 | 无码区日韩特区永久免费系列| 台湾佬中文娱乐中文| 日本乱中文字幕系列观看| 亚洲中文字幕无码一区二区三区| 亚洲AV蜜桃永久无码精品| 天堂无码久久综合东京热| 国产精品无码一区二区在线观一| 国产精品无码素人福利| 亚洲av无码国产精品色在线看不卡| AAA级久久久精品无码区| 精品无码一级毛片免费视频观看| 国产产无码乱码精品久久鸭| 亚洲综合日韩中文字幕v在线| 韩国三级中文字幕hd久久精品| 中文字幕免费在线观看| 亚洲国产综合精品中文字幕|