EDITORIAL
Election commissioner Sumeth Upanisakorn claimed on Wednesday that the organic law on political parties passed by the military-appointed government leaves him no choice but to recommend the dissolution of both Chart Thai and Matchimathipataya. Similarly, a junta-created law could see the ruling People Power party dissolved if executive member Yongyuth Tiyapairat is found guilty of vote buying.
Mr Sumeth cited the law as the "lock and chain" around the EC's neck and begged the public to understand its predicament. Sympathy aside, the EC and the general public must use their heads to consider a very tough question - not the one pertaining to the few cases at hand, but our long-term political future and what institutions do we want to nurture.
Looking at the differences between the new laws passed by the military and the old ones produced by an elected government, a strong case can be made that the potential dissolution cases will achieve little except destabilising the political system.
It's true that all the relevant laws are clear and unanimous on the matter - if the leader of a political party, or an executive member, commits a legal offence, that action is regarded as equivalent to the political party in question having exercised its power of administration in breach of the law. Can the bureaucrats and judges claim that they are simply upholding the law? Yes. But society must now ask a greater question: What kind of political system will produce a stable democracy in the long run?
It's clear that these laws were methodically changed so as to weaken politicians and stunt the growth of political parties. Society must now ask if that is the purpose we have in mind, or want to see happen. Do we want to put our faith in the tools of democracy - however imperfect they have proven to be - and try to strengthen them as best as we can while we go along? Or do we want to leave room for other powers to come into play in our politics? So, the debate here is not about whether Chart Thai or Matchimathipataya or PPP should be dissolved according to the law. Indeed, the law was written precisely so that parties would be dissolved. Rather, it is about whether the law itself should call for the parties to be dissolved.
Under the current laws written by the military and its supporters, the political parties will never grow strong and the system will never be stable. Allegations will always fly around, and the threat of dissolution will hang over every elected government, particularly those led by parties like PPP that aren't friends with the men in green. Is this what we want? Or do we want a stable democratic system in which the bad apples in a party can be prosecuted and those who did no wrong can proceed without punishment?
The laws now on the books are unworkable in nearly any democracy. For example, both the Republican and Democratic parties in the United States would have been dissolved long ago under Thailand's current laws.
Dissolving these parties will only create new clones and push the real decision-makers further into the shadows. The system will become more and more unstable and undemocratic, and could lead to more unrest. This is not a path we want to go down. Let's re-examine the laws now in an effort to build a stronger, more stable democracy.
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