By Prachatai |
<p>2019 is counted as the year when the arc of Thai politics was most striking since it was a time of transition from the ‘dark era’ under almost 5 years of the NCPO to the ‘hazy era’ after the election (which had been postponed 6 times) under the 2017 Constitution whose complicated design locked politics into a multilayered parliamentary system, and the Future Forward Party emerged to strongly challenge the old system.</p>
<p>The Royal Power Restoration Network submitted a petition signed by 104,136 people demanding the restoration of power to His Majesty the King. They blamed politicians for their corrupt practices and hoped that 10% of the country’s population will bring about changes in the nation.</p>
<p>Somsak Jeamtheerasakul, a Thammasat University lecturer in history, told a public forum that in order to get rid of the so-called ‘Amat’ regime (traditional elitist rule), it was necessary to change the constitutional clause on the royal prerogatives to conform to the principles of democracy. This included two main points: the appointment of Privy Councillors and the succession, with the latter being changed after the 1991 coup.</p>