Conflict, Legitimacy and Government Reform: Equitable Allocation of ...
Conflict, Legitimacy and Government Reform: Equitable Allocation of ...
Conflict, Legitimacy and Government Reform: Equitable Allocation of ...
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118 KPI Congress XI<br />
by all groups <strong>and</strong> that a mechanism to monitor <strong>and</strong> enforce the rules in<br />
accordance with the purpose <strong>of</strong> the law be agreed upon.<br />
For Thai society, the fundamental rule agreed upon by all sectors in<br />
the political, economic <strong>and</strong> social system is liberal <strong>and</strong> democratic.<br />
Nonetheless, there are some disagreements over subsidiary issues, such as<br />
political party-control, the representative election system, <strong>and</strong> the<br />
authority <strong>and</strong> duties <strong>of</strong> independent organization, in particular the<br />
Election Commission.<br />
The development <strong>of</strong> the political system in the past focused on<br />
building up the strength <strong>of</strong> political parties. Thail<strong>and</strong>’s 1974 constitution<br />
<strong>and</strong> the following ones state that MP c<strong>and</strong>idates <strong>and</strong> MPs must be<br />
members <strong>of</strong> parties (they cannot run as independents) <strong>and</strong> that the<br />
House <strong>of</strong> Representatives has the authority to establish <strong>and</strong> impeach the<br />
government.<br />
However, Thail<strong>and</strong>’s experience shows that the aim <strong>of</strong> using political<br />
parties as the main mechanism in developing democracy <strong>and</strong> improving<br />
government efficiency has failed. Thai politics is still unstable <strong>and</strong><br />
inefficient, with groups that are not in power acting disloyally. There are<br />
also occasional political disturbances <strong>and</strong> violence, for example, the<br />
“Right kills Left” incident on 6th October 1976, the “Young Turk”<br />
coup attempt on 1st April 1981 <strong>and</strong> the “Black May” event <strong>of</strong> 1992.<br />
The popular democratic movement forced the post-“Black May”<br />
1992 government to reform the whole political system. The coalition<br />
government led by Chart Thai Party that came to power in 1995<br />
launched a political reform campaign that led to the abrogation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
1991 constitution <strong>and</strong> the adoption <strong>of</strong> a new constitution in 1997.<br />
Thail<strong>and</strong>’s 1997 constitution aimed to build up the strength <strong>of</strong><br />
political parties in the democratic system <strong>and</strong> make the political system<br />
transparent, so that it would become an institution that is accountable<br />
<strong>and</strong> trustworthy to every Thai. The 1997 constitution used various<br />
measures to achieve its goal. Political parties were strengthened by<br />
creating a system that favored large political parties, putting small<br />
political parties at a disadvantage <strong>and</strong> preventing MPs from switching