Former opposition leaders warn of weakening checks and balances

Thai politics is going through a crisis of confidence stemming from weak checks and balances and the lack of independence of charter-mandated independent organisations, according to three former opposition leaders.

Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party, Cholnan Srikaew of the Pheu Thai Party and Chaithawat Tulathon of the now-defunct Move Forward Party shared their views on the topic “Thai Politics: Crisis of Confidence and Impacts on the Check-and-Balance Mechanism” at a panel discussion held today at the parliament complex.

Abhisit spoke first, saying that, in his view, whether a country is democratic does not depend solely on whether it has an elected government, but also on the existence of an effective opposition.

Under the present political circumstances, he said he was concerned because the government has full control of parliament and government MPs have to toe the party line.

Independent organisations, which are supposed to be free from political interference through the selection process by the Senate, have lost their independence because political parties have seized control of the Senate, he said.

Cholnan, a former leader of the Pheu Thai Party, said that in a democratic political system, all powers must be separated and subject to checks and balances. If the mechanism is weakened, he said, it could lead to exploitation by certain groups, resulting in a crisis of confidence.

He said he was not surprised that people had begun questioning the election of senators and the selection of members of independent organisations.

Meanwhile, Chaithawat questioned the Election Commission’s decision to quickly propose that the Constitutional Court dissolve the Move Forward Party over alleged lèse-majesté violations.

He said the EC had spent a long time investigating alleged collusion in the Senate election two years ago. Alleged rigging of the Senate election is not only a crisis in the check-and-balance mechanism but also a crisis in the democratic system, he said.

Independent organisations, including the Constitutional Court and the Senate, originated from military coups and were designed to rein in elected governments and the House of Representatives, Chaithawat said.

Although the Senate no longer has the power to elect the prime minister, it still has the power to select members of independent organisations, he noted.