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 Protesters have been trying to oust Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra since November, part of a long-running crisis that
broadly pits Bangkok's middle class and royalist establishment
against the mainly poor, rural supporters of Yingluck and her
brother, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thaksin was ousted by the military in 2006 and now lives in exile to
avoid a jail term handed down in 2008 for abuse of power. His
opponents accuse him of corruption and nepotism.
Thailand's Election Commission and Yingluck agreed on Wednesday to
hold a general election on July 20, but anti-government protesters
who disrupted a vote in February said they still wanted electoral
reforms before a new poll.
Former Prime Minister Abhisit, who launched a mediation effort on
April 24, told a news conference the vote should be delayed by five
or six months while a committee thrashed out reforms that would be
put to a referendum.
While that was being done, he wanted the country to be run by a
neutral interim government with limited powers.
The panel should include representatives of the People's Democratic
Reform Committee (PDRC), the protest group led by Suthep Thaugsuban,
who was a deputy prime minister under Abhisit until 2011.
"I have said from the start that no side will get what they want 100
percent from what I am proposing. But ... the government will see an
election, people will get to vote in the next five to six months.
The PDRC protesters will get their neutral government," Abhisit
said.
He said he would not be part of the reform committee and that no
politician should sit on it, but he gave few details on its likely
composition. He also said he would not take up a political position
in future if his plan was accepted, although his medium-term
intentions are unclear.
"I would like to ask Yingluck: is there any part of my proposal that
damages the country?" he said.
There was no immediate comment from Yingluck on his plan.
But Jarupong Ruangsuwan, leader of the ruling Puea Thai Party, told
Reuters that the government could not accept Abhisit's proposal and
that the cabinet will deliberate a draft royal decree for the July
20 election date on Tuesday.
"The government cannot accept Abhisit's plan because it is outside
the framework of the constitution. Abhisit's plan will only increase
divisions in Thai society," Jarupong said.
"Asking the government to resign is tantamount to ripping up the
constitution. We will push ahead with preparing the draft
(election)decree."
UPHILL TASK
Abhisit faces an uphill task to get his idea implemented, given that
supporters of Yingluck distrust him.
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When he was in power in 2010, Abhisit sent in the army to end a
pro-Thaksin protest. Also, he sided with the protest movement last
year and his Democrat Party boycotted the general election in
February.
Government supporters will see his proposals as reflecting the PDRC
platform. And protest leader Suthep has shown no willingness to
compromise, saying he will pursue the fight until Yingluck has been
ousted and the influence of the Shinawatra family is finished.
Supporters of Suthep plan a big gathering in Bangkok on May 5. The
pro-government "red shirts" have said they will rally on May 10 on
the outskirts of the capital.
Anti-Yingluck protests attracted more than 200,000 people at their
height late last year but numbers have dwindled over time. However,
hard-core demonstrators say they will continue to harass the
government until Yingluck is forced out.
She also faces threats from the courts, most immediately from a
charge of abuse of power for allegedly removing a national security
chief for party political reasons. The Constitutional Court could
hand down a verdict on that charge this month and she would have to
step down if found guilty.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission is also probing allegations
of dereliction of duty relating to a failed rice intervention
scheme. If it decides there is a case to answer, she faces
impeachment by the Senate.
Her supporters have said they will take to the streets if she is
removed by what they say are politicized judges. The risk of
confrontation with anti-government protesters lends urgency to
mediation efforts.
Yingluck has led a caretaker government with limited fiscal powers
since dissolving parliament in December.
The crisis has damaged business confidence, and the central bank has
warned of shrinkage in the economy in the first quarter. Some
economists fear the country could slip into recession unless the
deadlock is broken soon and a new government installed.
(Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
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