Supporters, opponents of German-style electoral system air views

Deputy Democrat Party leader Nipit Intrasombat said Thailand had never used this type of electoral system and it might cause difficulties for the party in some parts of the country.

“We used to get 90 per cent of the votes in the South, which can be calculated at around 48 constituency seats, while we received 80 per cent of party-list votes. If the country changes the system to the MMP, our party-list candidates [in the South] would be lost,” he said.

At the same time the Pheu Thai Party, most of whose supporters are in the Northeast region, would face the same problem, he said.

The CDC on Thursday resolved to adopt the German-style electoral system. 

The previous electoral system usually produced clear majorities in the Lower House, controlled by a few large parties. The downside, however, was that votes for the losing candidates counted for nothing, because of the “winner takes all” system.

Proponents of the MMP system, in contrast, claim that every single vote will be taken into account, as the number of seats allocated to political parties in Parliament is commensurate with the proportion of votes each party receives nationwide. Hence the number of votes is better reflected in the House of Representatives.

The CDC also increased the number of party-list MPs to 200 and reduced constituency MPs to 250.

However, if the CDC thought the MMP system suits the country and puts it into the new charter, political parties will have to find a way to solve their own problems, Nipit said.

Weng Tojirakarn, United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) leader, strongly disagrees with the MMP system. He suggested the country should use the electoral system stipulated in the 1997 Constitution, which had 400 constituencies and 100 party-list candidates. “The quality of constituency candidates and party-list candidates is hugely different, therefore reducing the number of constituency candidates would not be a good idea,” the UDD leader said.

He said the country should get rid of the Senate, claiming the Upper House was the most corrupt, and that senators had been responsible for appointing politically biased people to independent organisations, some of who were also allegedly corrupt and interfered with political affairs.

In response to the CDC allowing independent candidates for parliamentary seats, Weng said this would cause problems as well, making it extremely hard for the government and prime minister to control MPs.

He said the UDD in the new year might produce a comprehensive report on what obstructs Thai democracy, and explain it to the public independently.

Chaiyan Chaiyaporn, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said the MMP system would help every citizen’s vote count. He explained that sometimes there were people who did not support either of the big two parties but had to choose one of them in order for their votes to count.

“We can see that there are only two big parties, the Democrats and Pheu Thai. If people vote for a smaller third or fourth party, their votes will vanish.”

He added that if there were independent candidates such as from non-government groups taking part in the system, it would stimulate people’s enthusiasm for politics.

The MMP might promote better democracy, because democracy is for everyone, he concluded.

Akanat Prompan, spokesman for the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), insisted there should not be any MPs from a party-list system because that increased the chance for financiers to intervene in political parties. “The PDRC wants to see political parties truly represent the people, not being owned and controlled by financiers.”

He voiced support for the MMP system, saying it would cut down on vote-buying by political parties.

“But the PDRC still has to examine the CDC’s whole proposal further, and there will be a meeting arranged for us to discuss the charter,” Akanat said.

CDC member Paiboon Nititawan also agrees that the MMP would be the right choice, saying it would project everyone’s voice.

“Personally, I agree that representatives do not need to be members of political parties, and how the new system works such as 250 representatives and 200 party-list candidates including independent candidates can be a part of this as well,” he said.

Meanwhile, National Reform Council member Sombat Thamrong-thanyawong, whose proposal for a directly elected PM was rejected by the CDC, said increasing the number of party-list candidates to 200 might be another way for party leaders to select politicians who were loyal to them to win seats in Parliament.