- Title: JAPAN: Thai Finance Minister expects an "early" general election
- Date: 22nd May 2010
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MAY 21, 2010) (REUTERS) THAI FINANCE MINISTER KORN CHATIKAVANIJ AT NEWS CONFERENCE REPORTERS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) THAI FINANCE MINISTER KORN CHATIKAVANIJ, SAYING: "If you would ask me, are we still intending effectively to have an election on November 14th? I would not rule it out." AUDIENCE LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) THAI FINANCE MINISTER KORN CHATIKAVANIJ, SAYING: "So without tightening ourselves down to a specific date, let's just say: I do expect an early election." REPORTERS TAKING NOTES MORE OF NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) THAI FINANCE MINISTER KORN CHATIKAVANIJ, SAYING: "The key issue here is the political environment that, if everybody was moving according to that roadmap, towards reconciliation. We don't yet need to see the final result, we just need to see commitment by all the parties to stay at the path. And if all the political parties were able to feel that their candidates can campaign anywhere in the country, free of violence, then the election can take place." BANGKOK, THAILAND (MAY 19, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF THAI TROOPS HIDING BEHIND ARMOURED VEHICLE THAI SOLDIERS HIDING BEHIND TREES VARIOUS ARMOURED VEHICLE ON STREET THAI SOLDIERS SMOKE AND FIRE MORE OF THAI SOLDIERS EMPTY STREETS VARIOUS OF CLOSED CURRENCY EXCHANGE EMPTY STREET
- Embargoed: 6th June 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: International Relations,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVACGAS4SJMYW0ZY0I5IUWWIOK1O
- Story Text: Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij says he expects an early general election in Thailand.
Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said on Friday (May 21) he expects an "early" general election, adding that it was highly unlikely the current government would stay in office for its full term thatin 2012.
Korn told a news conference in Tokyo he could not be sure if Thailand could hold the election in November, but he would not rule out the possibility.
"If you would ask me, are we still intending effectively to have an election on November 14th? I would not rule it out," he said.
Thai finance minister said he still expected an early poll and, despite adding it was highly unlikely the government would stay in office for its full term, but he refused to indicate any specific date.
"So without tightening ourselves down to a specific date, let's just say: I do expect an early election," he told reporters.
Modern Thailand has never seen such a protracted period of urban violence or teetered so close to full civil conflict.
Anti-government "red shirt" protesters have demanded new elections, saying Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva lacks a popular mandate after coming to power in a controversial parliamentary vote in 2008 with tacit military support.
Before the latest violence, Abhisit had separately offered fresh elections in November, but has since withdrawn the offer, leaving Thailand's political divisions unhealed.
In an exclusive interview to Reuters, Korn stressed that the Thai government needs to work on creating the conditions that would make a violence-free campaign by all parties possible.
"The key issue here is the political environment that, if everybody was moving according to that roadmap, towards reconciliation. We don't yet need to see the final result, we just need to see commitment by all the parties to stay at the path. And if all the political parties were able to feel that their candidates can campaign anywhere in the country, free of violence, then the election can take place," he said.
Thai authorities restored order over most of Bangkok on Thursday (May 20), a day after fires and rioting veered towards anarchy as troops took control of a camp occupied by anti-government protesters - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
