FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Irish voting system a role model for Thai democracy 

Irish voting system a role model for Thai democracy 

Re: “US and UK in turmoil, but at least their democratic sovereignty is intact”, Letters, February 1.

The events in the US and the UK will have a direct bearing on the economy and political direction of Thailand and therefore are followed here with great interest.
Letter-writer Robin Grant cites opinion polls as evidence that Scots are against breaking away from the United Kingdom. Such polls are indeed useful. However they are not always accurate and opinions can quickly change. Remember: a week is a long time in politics.
There is a precedent concerning independence (albeit with important historical differences), namely the birth of the Irish Free State. The first decade of the last century was an unusual one in Irish history, with nationalist fervour in decline and few who could have predicted what would happen in the years to come.
The Irish have continued to use a more democratic voting system that was initially put in place by the British (the “single transferable vote” system used in the Irish general election of 1922). Let us hope that, in its return to democracy, Thailand follows better examples.
Ian Martin
Bangkok

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