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Title Politics of Electoral Reform in Thailand( Dissertation 全文 ) Title Politics of Electoral Reform in Thailand( Dissertation_全文 ) Author(s) Siripan, Nogsuan Sawasdee Citation 京都大学 Issue Date 2015-03-23 URL https://doi.org/10.14989/doctor.r12940 Right 許諾条件により本文は2015/06/01に公開 Type Thesis or Dissertation Textversion ETD Kyoto University A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Area Studies Politics of Electoral Reform in Thailand タイにおける選挙制度改革の政治 Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee November 2014 Doctor of Area Studies A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Area Studies Politics of Electoral Reform in Thailand タイにおける選挙制度改革の政治 Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee สิริพรรณ นกสวน สวสดั ี Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies Kyoto University November 2014 Contents Contents 1 Lists of Tables and Figures 4 List of Acronyms 6 Acknowledgements 8 Abstract 10 Chapter I: Introduction: Understanding Electoral Reform 15 1.1 Get to Know Electoral Reform 15 1.2 Electoral Reform: The Cross-National Appeals 16 1.3 Main Argument 19 1.4 Questions and the Contentions: Democracy and Electoral Reform in Thailand 22 1.5 Review Literature and Major Discourses 27 1.6 Plan of the Study 39 Chapter II: Constitutional and Electoral Rule Changes, 1932-1996 41 2.1 Five Episodes of Political Development 44 2.2 Changes to Electoral Rules, 1933-1996 59 2.3 Conclusion: the Chosen Few versus the Voice and Will of the Public 62 Chapter III: The 1997 Electoral Reform: New Modes of Political Competition 64 3.1 The Background 65 3.2 The Process 65 3.3 Public Participation 67 3.4 Introducing New Electoral System 69 3.5 First Time Popular Election of the Senate 72 1 3.6 Electoral Regulations and Mechanisms of the 1997 Constitution 74 3.7 Other Innovations Concerning Institutional Reform 79 3.8 The 1997 Electoral Reform and Consequences 82 3.9 The Evaluation of New Electoral Rules and Regulations under Electoral Reform 88 3.10 Implications of the 1997 Electoral Reform 94 3.11 Conclusion: Beyond or Less than Expectations? 99 Chapter IV: The 2007 Electoral Reform: An Attempt to Divert the Previous Effects 101 4.1 The Background 102 4.2 The Process 103 4.3 Public Participation 104 4.4 Electoral System Change under the 2007 Constitution 106 4.5 The Senate: Half Elected, Half Selected Chamber 108 4.6 Electoral Regulations and Mechanisms of the 2007 Constitution 109 4.7 Other Related Adjustments to Institutional Reforms 117 4.8 The 2007 Electoral Reform and Consequences 120 4.9 The 2007 Electoral Reform and the Senate 124 4.10 Implications of the 2007 Electoral Reform 126 4.11 Conclusion: Electoral Reform as Strong Medicine 127 Chapter V: Electoral Reform Against the Backdrop of Ethical Politics 129 5.1 The Background 131 5.2 The Process 132 5.3 Public Participation 134 5.4 Redesigning the Electoral System 135 5.5 The 2011 Electoral Results: The Expected and the Unexpected 139 2 5.6 The Attempt to Alter the Composition of the Senate 144 5.7 The Nullification of the February 2, 2014 General Election 148 5.8 The Elected Bodies Eclipsed by the Independent Commissions under the Constitution 151 5.9 Conclusion: Moral Politics; A Suitable Means to Control Electoral Democracy? 152 Chapter VI: Electoral Decisions and Democratic Embedment 153 6.1 Electoral Turnout and the Voters 154 6.2 The Reduction and Stabilization of Political Parties 156 6.3 Social and Economic Bases of Political Parties 159 6.4 The Voters’ Perspective on Vote-Buying and Voting Patterns 166 6.5 Conclusion: The Task of Making Democracy Work 176 Chapter VII: Conclusion: The Paradox of Electoral Reform 179 7.1 The Origins of the 1997 and 2007 Electoral Reforms and Their Paradoxical Intentions 179 7.2 Electoral Reforms and the Paradoxical Outcomes 182 7.3 Factors Contributing to the Varied Outcomes of Electoral Reform in Thailand 195 7.4 Conclusion: Which Way Forward? 200 References 204 3 List of Tables and Figures List of Tables Table 2.1: Constitutions and Elections in Thailand, 1932-2014 43 Table 2.2: Constitutional Amendments on Major Issues, 1932-1991 58 Table 3.1: Election Results, the 2001 and 2005 General Elections 82 Table 3.2: PR Votes and Eliminated Parties, the January 6, 2001 General Election 84 Table 3.3: PR Votes and Seats, the 2001 and 2005 General Elections 85 Table 3.4: Constituency Votes and Seats, the 2001 and 2005 General Elections 87 Table 3.5: Percentage of Candidates with Non-Bachelor Degree, 1992-1996 91 Table 3.6: Three Political Parties that Won the Most Seats in General Elections, 1975-2001 95 Table 4.1: Party Membership and Party Branches, 2001, 2005, and 2007 114 Table 4.2: Party Finance Figures 115 Table 4.3: Comparison of Donations and State Subsidies 116 Table 4.4: Number of Incumbents Switching Parties before the 2007 General Election 119 Table 4.5: Election Results, the December 23, 2007 General Election 121 Table 4.6: Occupational Backgrounds of Elected and Selected Senators, 2008 125 Table 5.1: Election Results, the July 3, 2011 General Election 140 Table 5.2: Close Family Members of MPs and Senators, 2000-2006 146 Table 5.3: Occupational Background of Selected Senators in 2011 and Elected Senators in 2014 147 Table 5.4: Comparison of Voter Turnout, Spoiled Ballots, and Vote No, 2005-2014 149 Table 5.5: Voter Turnout, Spoiled Ballots, and Vote No, the 2014 General Election 150 Table 6.1: Voter Turnout in General Elections, 1992-2011 156 Table 6.2: Proportion of Votes (%) Obtained by Parties, 1992-2011 158 Table 6.3: Effective Number of Parties, 1983-2011 159 4 Table 6.4: Social and Economic Bases of Parties, 2007 and 2011 163 Table 6.5: Regional Strongholds of the TRT, DP, and CP 165 Table 6.6: Left-Right Positions of the PPP (TRT), DP, and CP 166 Table 6.7: Does Receiving Money Engender Feeling of Obligation to Vote for a Specific Party or Candidate ? 169 Table 6.8: Most Influential Person in Making Electoral Decision 170 Table 6.9: The Margin of Winning in Constituency Level, the 2011 General Election 172 Table 6.10: Numbers of Party-Line Votes and Split-Ticket Votes, 375 Constituencies 174 Table 7.1: Legislators who are Women, 1995-2011 188 Table 7.2: Electoral Reform, Goals, Measures, and Effects 194 Table 7.3: Seats-Votes Differences in Four General Elections after Electoral Reform 196 List of Figures Figure 3.1: Voter Turnout in General Elections, 1933-2001 89 Figure 3.2: Number of Candidates Switched from Other Parties before 2001 90 Figure 3.3: Number of the 1996 Incumbents Ran under the Same Party, the 2001 General Election 90 Figure: 4.1: Seats-Votes Differences (%): A Comparison between PR with and without Five Percent Threshold 123 Figure 4.2: Seats-Votes Differences (%): A Comparison between SMD and MMD 123 Figure 5.1: Numbers of Constituencies with Straight-Ticket Voting in the General Elections using Multi-Member District System 136 Figure 5.2: Number of Constituency MPs by Region, the 2011 General Election 140 Figure 7.1: Educations of Elected MPs, 1986-2011 187 Figure 7.2: Occupations of Elected MPs, 1986-2011 188 5 List of Acronyms Political Parties in Thailand BJTP Bhumjai Thai CP/CTP Chart Thai/Chart Thai Pattana CPDP Chartpattana Peu Pandin CPP Chart Pattana CPT Communist Party of Thailand DP Democrat NAP New Aspiration PDP Palang Dharma SAP Social Action SDP Samakkidham TRT/PPP/PT Thai Rak Thai/ People’s Power/ Pue Thai Others AHRC Asia Human Rights Commission ATM Automatic Teller Machine BAAC Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives CDA Constitutional Drafting Assembly CDC Constitutional Drafting Committee CDD Committee for Developing Democracy CDRM/CDR Council for Democratic Reform under the Constitutional Monarchy CNS Council for National Security DOLA Department of Local Administration ECT Election Commission of Thailand ENEP Effective Number of Electoral Parties (parties winning votes) ENPP Effective Number of Legislative Parties (parties winning seats) FDP Fund for Development of Political Parties 6 IDE Institute of Developing Economies IDEA Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance KPI King Prajadhipok’s Institute MMD Multi-Member District MMP Mixed-Member Proportional Representation MPs Members of Parliament MSMV Multi-Seat, Multiple Vote NACC National Anti-Corruption Commission NGOs Non-Government Organizations NIDA National Institute of Development Administration NLA National Legislative Assembly NPLs Non-Performing Loans NSC National Security Council OTOP One Tambon (Sub-District), One Product PAD People’s Alliance for Democracy (the Yellow-Shirt) PAO Provincial Administration Organization PDRC People’s Democratic Reform Committee P-NET People’s Network for Elections PR Proportional Representation SAO Sub-district Administration Organization SMD Single-Member District SME Small and Medium Sized Business Entrepreneur SNTV Single, Non‐Transferable Vote TRCT Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand UDD United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (the Red-Shirt) WCN Women and Constitution Network 7 Acknowledgments Completion of this study was made possible with the support of several people and organizations. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of them. First of all, my deepest appreciation is to my academic advisor, Professor Yoshifumi Tamada. I have been amazingly fortunate to know him and receive the guidance from his vast and in-depth knowledge, not only on Thai politics, but also on politics and theories in general. I doubt that I will ever be able to convey my appreciation fully, but I owe him my eternal gratitude. I hope that one day I would become as good an advisor to my students and as a good human being to others as Professor Tamada has been to me. I would also like to thank Associate Professor Masaaki Okamoto and Associate Professor Yoshihiro Nakanishi for serving as my committee members and for letting my defense be an enjoyable and delightful moment.
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