BANGKOK, 5 May 2014 – Academics in political science and laws have expressed their disagreement with the Democrat Party’s Leader Abhisit Vejjajiva’s proposed political reform roadmap, saying that it may be unconstitutional, while the ruling Pheu Thai Party simply views that it is not the correct strategy to exit from the nation’s political crisis.
Pheu Thai Party Spokesperson Prompong Nopparit reiterated that one prerequisite for a Prime Minister is that the individual must be a Member of Parliament, while stressing the constitution does not endorse the idea of an ‘intermediate Prime Minister’.
He then concluded Mr. Abhisit’s proposal, which was similar to the one offered by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), was unlawful and its implementation would not move the nation forward while calling it a ‘silent coup d’etat’. Nonetheless Mr. Prompong said the matter would be discussed in Pheu Thai Party’s meeting tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Mr. Weerapat Pariyawong, a law expert, echoed Mr. Prompong’s opinion on the Democrat Party Leader’s proposal, pointing out that Mr. Abhisit might intentionally make such a proposal to draw disagreement from the opposition in order to make ways for independent public agencies to intervene.
Another academic in political science, Bundit Chanrojanakij also viewed Mr. Abhisit’s proposal in the same way, saying it was not agreeable to any constitutional principles. He indicated that the chance of success for the proposal was nearly zero as it lacks support from the majority of the people.
Dean of the Faculty of Political Science of Sukhothai Thammathirat University, Yutthaporn Issarachai stated that the Democrat Party Leader’s proposal would lead the country right into a political vacuum while creating an even wider rift among Thais.
