Writing on wall for PM: Abhisit
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday urged Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to consider his role and take action before the political crisis gets worse.
The high numbers of "no votes" and invalid ballots in Sunday's election clearly showed that the people had rejected Thaksin, he said. "The historically high number of people who cast a 'no vote' formed a loud voice Thaksin should listen to, and he should consider defusing the political tension," he said. Although Thai Rak Thai MP candidates might win House seats, they may well have received fewer votes than those who abstained in their constituencies, Abhisit said, adding that they should ask themselves if they would be proud to represent the people in their constituencies. Likewise, Thaksin should ask himself if he would be able to administer the country smoothly, he said. Abhisit said a royally appointed prime minister would be a solution, but before that, Thaksin must take action to facilitate the conditions for such a move. Democrat Party secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday called on the prime minister to take a break from politics, and called on the Election Commission (EC) to resign over what he described as its failure to organise free and fair elections on Sunday. Suthep said the number of voters choosing the "no vote" option on Sunday reflected the fact that the people no longer accepted Thaksin. Thaksin shouldn't be stubborn and hold on, as the people's refusal of him was so obvious that he couldn't even begin to evaluate the result as being in his favour, Suthep said. Fewer than the legally required 500 MPs would likely be elected to Parliament anyway, he said. Suthep said the idea of Thaksin letting Thai Rak Thai deputy leader Bhokin Bhalakula become the next prime minister would raise questions over whether Thaksin, though no longer prime minister himself, might still be behind the government without having to take responsibility for anything. While the people refused to accept Thaksin, the situation would deteriorate, he said. Thaksin and the Cabinet should seek royal advice on the best way to fix the country's problems, he said. Suthep said the election commissioners should take responsibility for organising a questionable election that drew many complaints, especially over the positioning of the voting booths. Critics said the placement of the booths might have violated people's rights by allowing others to see how they voted. They were also upset that pens were not provided for voters to mark their ballots in addition to rubber stamps. - Kornchanok Raksaseri, The Nation
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