Thailand's Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-O-Cha, has announced that he will dissolve parliament "in March" ahead of new parliamentary elections to be held in May. The exact date for the elections is not yet known, but it is expected to take place on Sunday 7 May. According to the constitution, elections must take place 45 to 60 days after the dissolution of the House of Commons.
In an official announcement, the Thai government blames the population for the spread of Covid-19 during the third wave. Thai citizens have done too little to prevent this, the government says.
Thai government issues lockdown warning
The threat of a total lockdown in Thailand is not yet off the table. CCSA spokesperson Taweesilp warned yesterday: “Adhere to the measures and our guidelines or there will be a national lockdown until March. If there is no proper cooperation from the population and the situation gets out of hand, this ultimate measure will be taken.”
Covid-19 and the Thai government: a successful approach
Fortunately, Charly's life is full of pleasant surprises (unfortunately sometimes also less pleasant ones). For several years now he has lived with his Thai wife Teoy in a resort not far from Udonthani. In his stories, Charly mainly tries to raise awareness of Udon, but he also discusses many other things in Thailand.
Government under pressure due to lack of effective measures against particulate matter
The government has received a lot of criticism from scientists, doctors and citizens' groups for failing to combat particulate matter. The measures taken are not strict enough and too superficial.
On 10 July 2019, His Majesty King Maha Vachiralongkon issued a Royal Command to appoint a 36-member cabinet with Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha as Prime Minister and Defense Minister. The king swore in all cabinet members on Tuesday 16 July.
Unofficial election result: No special changes
The Electoral Council announced the distribution of seats yesterday. The lead in number of votes between front runners Palang Pracharath and Pheu Thai has increased slightly. Pheu Thai remains well ahead of Palang Pracharath with 137 seats with Prayut as prime minister candidate, the pro-junta party got 118 seats.
Comparative Democracy
The Thai voter spoke on March 17 and 24 and by mail. Let's assume for now that the provisional result will not differ much or nothing from the official result. So what do the numbers say? And what would the distribution of seats in the Thai parliament have looked like if the method of distribution of seats as we have it in the Netherlands had been used here?
Wangwichit Boonprong, deputy dean of the Political Science Department at Rangsit University, thinks it would be wise for Prime Minister Prayut to delegate more and let other members of the government talk to the press. For example, to explain economic policy.
Prime Minister Prayut wants to fight poverty among Thais
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's head is full of plans. Making plans is not that difficult, but executing them is a bit more difficult in practice. In his weekly TV talk on Friday, the prime minister came up with the goal of raising the average per capita income from 20 baht a year to 212.000 baht over the next 450.000 years.
The balance of 3 years of military government: 'Especially a lot of money for arms purchases'
Today, the junta led by Prayut has been in power for three years. Bangkok Post looks back and lets a number of critics speak: “Prayut promised three years ago to bring peace, order and happiness back to Thailand. But the only ones who are happy are in the army. They are allowed to spend a lot of money on new military equipment”.
Prime Minister Prayut is in a good mood
Prime Minister and junta leader Prayut and his wife do not have to bite a stick, because their wealth is 128 million baht. The richest minister is Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula with a fortune of 1,38 billion baht. This was announced yesterday by the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
3,4 million farmers receive support
The government will play Sinterklaas: 3,4 million farming families will receive an amount of money ranging from 1.000 to 15.000 baht. Not a 'populist measure', says Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn, but intended to help the poorest and to stimulate the economy.
Cabinet with 11 soldiers in the starting blocks
A cabinet of 11 military personnel and 21 bureaucrats and technocrats will lead Thailand in the coming year. Yesterday, coup leader and prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced the composition. Tomorrow the new cabinet will be sworn in by the king at Siriraj hospital.
Coupleider defends military dominance in cabinet
Like the emergency parliament, the cabinet will also be dominated by army officers. "We still have a security problem, so I need officers I can trust to run the country," said interim Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. The fight against corruption has the highest priority for the new cabinet.
Prayuth: Junta and government divide the work
When the interim cabinet takes office next month, the NCPO (junta) will have a firm finger in three areas: the fight against corruption, drug trafficking and the illegal use of state land.
Senate continues to seek interim prime minister
The Senate is going ahead with the plan to appoint an interim prime minister, provided the current government is willing to step down. The red shirts have already threatened a major rally when it comes to that.