CDC election could open door to ‘outsider’ as PM: Pheu Thai

THE CONSTITUTION Drafting Committee (CDC)’s proposed election system could pave the way for an outsider to become prime minister, Pheu Thai Party’s acting secretary-general said yesterday.
Phumtham Wechayachai made the comments after the CDC last week announced its plan to abolish the one-party-one-number electoral system in its organic draft law on MPs.
In an approved organic law draft on political parties, the CDC and the National Legislative Assembly also passed the new Mixed Member Apportionment (MMA) system, party membership fees and seed funding as well as a primary voting system.
While MMA would allocate votes to all contesting MP candidates proportionately, likely preventing any single party from winning decisively at the national level, the party membership requirement puts more conditions on obtaining membership. 
The primary voting system, meanwhile, would require parties to have local representatives or branches in contested constituencies in order to select their MP candidates, making it harder for small-scale parties to comply.
“Pushing for the primary vote without having a clear understanding will cause a rift in society and weaken political institutions,” Phumtham said. He added that the “powers-that-be” should allow political actors to participate more in designing the voting system.
“All of these are clear indications to weaken the political parties and to transfer political power to their own group and allowing an outsider to become prime minister,” he said.
If these regulations cause problems “then it is the duty of all Thais to help in making changes to these regulations to be in line with the real problems at hand”, he said.
The CDC’s proposed new numbering system would also require MP candidates in each constituency to draw lots to receive their own individual numbers. This would mean that MP candidates would be registered under different numbers in various constituencies, despite belonging to the same party.
Politicians and academics are concerned that the proposed method would complicate election procedures and confuse voters, who would have to elect both constituency and party-list MPs in one ballot.
It could also weaken the significance of political parties in the election arena because numbers would 
 belong to MP candidates, not their parties.
Phumtham said election regulations should be easy to follow to encourage public participation in politics.
Meanwhile, Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said the numbering system, although designed to prevent vote buying, would not do so efficiently.
As most vote buying was done through canvassers at the village level, the number an MP candidate draws will not stop canvassers from lobbying the MP’s constituency, he said. The system would also complicate the Election Commission’s logistical procedures when managing elections, he added.
However, Prasarn Marukpitak, a former member of the defunct National Reform Council, argued the new system would help empower each MP candidate by putting more focus on individuals rather than party influences.
Voters should also not be confused when casting votes, given that MP candidates would have 45 days to campaign. Voters would also only focus on their own constituencies, Prasarn said.