[CtEkM8Vq]

Thailand’s ruling party warned democracy is under threat as its highest court moves to stop lawmakers from changing the constitution in a country that has suffered 18 coup attempts in the past eight decades.

The Constitutional Court has no right to prevent Parliament from voting on an amendment that would create a new body to rewrite the charter, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung told reporters yesterday. A judicial challenge to the legislators’ efforts could lead to the disbanding of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s party, the third time courts have disqualified elected allies of her brother Thaksin Shinawatra since he was ousted by the military six years ago.

iQA.ihAhx2LE.jpg
Thaksin Shinawatra, former prime minister of Thailand.

“Did they fall asleep and didn’t know we got our power from the election?” Chalerm said, referring to judges on the nine-member Constitutional Court. “Don’t go too far. This is too much and no one can accept this.”

The dispute risks reigniting street protests pitting Thaksin supporters who have won five straight elections against opponents who accuse him of undermining the monarchy and subverting the legal system to allow his return from exile. Thai stocks dropped to a four-month low as consumer confidence fell for the first time in half a year in May because of escalating political strains and higher costs for food and oil.

“Rising political tension has significantly weakened sentiment in the Thai stock market, which has already been hurt by European debt concerns,” Thongmakut Thongyai, chief executive officer of SCB Securities Co., a brokerage unit of Siam Commercial Bank Pcl, the country’s third-biggest bank. “The government will now focus on resolving the political deadlock rather than on economic policies.”

iMn_yWzTdpSQ.jpg
Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister.

Stocks Drop
The SET Index has fallen 10 percent over the past month, more than benchmarks in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. Overseas investors sold a net 1.32 billion baht ($41.8 million) of Thai stocks yesterday, extending net sales this month to $66.7 million. An index measuring consumer sentiment fell to 67.1 in May from 67.5 in April, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said yesterday.

The Constitutional Court ordered Parliament last week to stop considering a bill that would establish a 99-member body to rewrite the constitution drafted by an army-appointed panel after the coup. The Pheu Thai party won a majority in last July’s elections after campaigning on changing the document to make it harder to disband political parties. It also sought to curtail the power of appointed judges, soldiers and bureaucrats.

Public Promise
The court accepted petitions arguing that the process violated Article 68 of the constitution, which restricts attempts “to overthrow the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of State.” The clause allows judges to disband political parties that contravene the stipulation.

The court can accept petitions directly as well as from the Attorney General, Pimol Thampitakpong, a spokesman for the Constitutional Court, said by phone, dismissing criticism from Pheu Thai lawmakers who accused the judges of acting improperly in taking up the case. Prosecutors will start a separate investigation, Vinai Dumrongmongcolgul, a spokesman for the Attorney General, told reporters yesterday.

The judges wants lawmakers to provide “a promise to the public” in clarifying whether plans to rewrite the constitution will change articles related to the monarchy, court President Wasan Soypisudh said on June 3. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 84, took the throne in 1946 and serves as head of state. Insulting him can lead to a 15-year jail sentence.

“This will ensure that the constitutional amendments will not go too far,” Wasan said. “We need to investigate this to balance the power.”

Parliament Protests
In an interview last week, Yingluck asserted Parliament’s legitimacy to decide how to rectify injustices since the coup, including on bills that may provide an amnesty for Thaksin, who has lived overseas since fleeing a two-year jail sentence in 2008. Lawmakers postponed deliberation on the bills last week after his opponents blocked entrances to the building.

Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva pushed for the government to end the parliamentary session, telling a broadcaster affiliated with his party that the constitution changes and laws dealing with political offenses are not urgent issues. “We should delay them and the government can go back to solving the economic and cost-of-living problems.”

The judiciary has played a leading role in determining Thai political outcomes since 2006, when King Bhumibol called on judges to resolve a pending constitutional crisis. Since then, courts voided an election won by Thaksin’s party, disqualified about 200 politicians linked to him, sentenced him to jail and seized 46 billion baht ($1.5 billion) of his wealth.

‘Poker Game’
The Constitutional Court will probably try to win assurances in writing that Pheu Thai has no plans to change articles affecting the monarchy or the independence of the judiciary, said Kaewsan Atipho, a member of a panel that investigated Thaksin after the coup and supports the court’s actions.

The political maneuverings “are like a poker game where everybody has a gun in their pocket,” Kaewsan said. “Thai society is the loser.”

Thaksin’s opponents, known as the Yellow Shirts, seized government buildings and airports in 2008, ending their protests when a court disbanded his ruling party for election fraud, paving the way for Abhisit to take power. The group accused him of seeking to reduce the power of the king, whom the constitution says “shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship.’

‘Judicial Coup’
Thaksin’s supporters, the Red Shirts, began large-scale demonstrations after Abhisit became prime minister, with some factions pushing to change laws that shield the king from criticism. The group’s protests in 2010 ended in a military assault, arson attacks and more than 90 deaths.

Another ‘‘judicial coup” may take place before street protests spin out of control, a possible pretext for another military intervention, according to Paul Chambers, director of research at the Southeast Asian Institute of Global Studies at Payap University in Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand.

“If things continue as they are right now, then Yingluck’s days are numbered,” he said. “If Pheu Thai steps back and ends the attempts to change the constitution, then Yingluck can stay in office perhaps until her term is over.”