At 8.40pm Bangkok time today, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has announced a House dissolution on national television after he was granted an audience with His Majesty the King earlier this evening.
He said that decision as an act to return the mandate to the people in order to uphold the democratic rules.
Snap election to elect the new government is to take place on April 2.
The decision was taken after public pressure escalated calling for for his resignation since the sell-off of his family’s controlling stake in Shin Corp to Temasek, the Singapore’s government investment agency. Critics have accused him of insider trading and structuring the deal to avoid paying hefty taxes, among other irregularities.
This month, we have seen impeachment attemp by 28 senators, Anti-Thaksin rallies of 50,000 protesters joined by student unions from the leading Thailand universities all calling PM Thaksin to step down.
2Bangkok.com on his analysis mentioned that there is a big possibility that Thaksin will fight back and stay in power.
… Thaksin, not being a political animal, but a business leader not adverse to failure, is more interested in regrouping and staying in charge where he believes he belongs. He will not step into the shadows like a canny career politician, but try to weather the storm like an embattled CEO guiding his company through a sales downturn…
..This is where the eventual conflict could come because Thaksin will not play by Thai political rules and step aside once ‘society’ (academics, politicians, and activists, but not necessarily voters) has judged him to have lost legitimacy to rule…
3 comments
Anti-Thaksin protests in Bangkok are getting increasingly vociferous, and they are not widely reported in mainstream Thai media. There are some pictures and further information here:
http://www.2bangkok.com/high.shtml
It’s sad to see the protests and the people involved clearly does not undertsnd the word “Democracy’! Please remember that in a democracy world, majority rules. Those protesters are so childish and they are not even willing to give in to a median solutions. Have they heard for a win-win situation. What’s wrong with another election and the best and strongest one wins. This is the race for the ‘Fittest of the Fittest!” I am proud that Thaksin doesn’t step down and fall into the trap of protestors. Thaksin is right about focusing on the areas that would benefits most people.
If you llik at the big picture: 100K people vs 19 million people (less then 1% of the people who votes for Thaksin!) Thaksin is right about not listening to them and move forward and focus on his job! Keep it up!