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| Southeast Asia |
| Thai premier offers elections as opp MPs quit en masse |
| 2013-12-09 |
| [Pak Daily Times] Thailand's embattled premier said Sunday she was willing to call an election to end mass anti-government protests as the kingdom's political crisis deepened with the mass resignation of opposition MPs. Bangkok is bracing for another major anti-government demonstration on Monday, with protest leaders vowing a final showdown in efforts to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and curb the political influence of her brother Thaksin. "We decided to quit as MPs to march with the people against the Thaksin regime," Democrat Party politician Sirichok Sopha said. The kingdom has been rocked by several episodes of political bloodshed since Thaksin, a billionaire tycoon-turned-premier, was ousted by royalist generals in a coup seven years ago. Yingluck's government has been shaken by more than a month of rolling rallies by demonstrators, sometimes numbering in their tens of thousands, who want to suspend the country's democracy in favour of an unelected "People's Council". Yingluck on Sunday renewed her offer of elections if the protesters -- a mix of royalists, middle class Thais and other Thaksin opponents -- agree to respect the democratic process. "The government is ready to dissolve the house if the majority wants it," she said in a televised address, noting that under the kingdom's laws an election would have to be held within 60 days. But "if protesters or a major political party do not accept that or do not accept the result of the election, it will just prolong the conflict," she said. The protest leaders have said that they would not be satisfied with new elections, leaving the two sides locked in a stalemate that risks scaring off foreign investors and tourists. "An unelected government would affect the country's reputation and stability," Yingluck warned. "If protesters want that, it should be asked whether it is the desire of the majority." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Shinawatra has the rural vote and will win any election. The urban middle class opposing her simply don't have the numbers. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2013-12-09 04:32 |
| #1 F - That Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra , start ruling by decree... if you do not know how to do that, call the guy who lives here |
| Posted by: Au Auric 2013-12-09 01:17 |