Thailand: 2007 pre-election technical assessment report of findings and recommendations: 26 April 2007.INTRODUCTIONIFES IFES International Foundation for Election Systems IFES International Fellowship of Evangelical Students IFES Image Feature Extraction System IFES Irmandade da Festa do Espirito Santo IFES Instituto Femenino de Educación Superior (Spanish) is pleased to present this comprehensive assessment report anticipating the upcoming constitutional referendum and general election in the Kingdom of Thailand. IFES hopes that these findings and recommendations can inform efforts to strengthen the democratic process within Thailand and can provide guidance as the nation seeks to reassume Re`as`sume´ v. t. 1. To assume again or anew; to resume. its position as a model for democracy within Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, region of Asia (1990 est. pop. 442,500,000), c.1,740,000 sq mi (4,506,600 sq km), bounded roughly by the Indian subcontinent on the west, China on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east. . The field work and interviews that provide the substance of this report were conducted between March 14 and April 5, 2007. A great deal of information was collected during the course of the assessment, which reflects the openness and input of all with whom the team met. At the same time, the political situation in Thailand is dynamic, with developments occurring more quickly than can be captured fully by a written report. Given the timing of the issuance of this report vis-a-vis the release of the draft constitution by the Constitution Drafting Assembly / Committee (CDA/CDC), some facts contained herein will become outdated out·dat·ed adj. Out-of-date; old-fashioned. outdated Adjective old-fashioned or obsolete Adj. 1. . Once the draft constitution is made public, IFES will prepare a legal review of the electoral provisions that will serve as a supplement to this report. As a nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. , nongovernmental democracy development organization that works to give people a voice in the way they are governed, IFES has provided election stakeholders Stakeholders All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. from more than 100 countries with the technical advice and tools necessary to conduct democratic elections and maintain stable, accountable election administration. Since our founding in 1987, our work has been nonpartisan non·par·ti·san adj. Based on, influenced by, affiliated with, or supporting the interests or policies of no single political party: a nonpartisan commission; nonpartisan opinions. and focuses on forging a sustainable democratic process though responsive institutions, informed citizens, respect for human rights and the rule of law. The rapid-appraisal methodology used to perform diagnostic pre-election technical assessments (PETAs) has been refined over the past two decades. A PETA Quadrillion (10 to the 15th power). See space/time. can provide host country stakeholders, and the international donor community, with a benchmark document to facilitate election assistance that is appropriate, coordinated and strategically oriented o·ri·ent n. 1. Orient The countries of Asia, especially of eastern Asia. 2. a. The luster characteristic of a pearl of high quality. b. A pearl having exceptional luster. 3. . IFES has conducted assessments based on this PETA methodology in nearly 70 countries, including Afghanistan, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (păp`  ə, –y and Bangladesh. IFES' PETA reports include information about
the overall electoral environment and political, economic, social, and
security issues likely to affect the campaigns and elections process in
the host country. They also outline both short-term action strategies
and longer term, sustainable solutions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The IFES assessment team would like to express its sincere appreciation to the Chairman and Secretary General of the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT ECT electroconvulsive therapy. ECT abbr. electroconvulsive therapy ECT Electroconvulsive therapy sometimes is used to treat depression or mania when pharmaceutical treatment fails. ) and the commission staff who were exceedingly ex·ceed·ing·ly adv. To an advanced or unusual degree; extremely. exceedingly Adverb very; extremely Adv. 1. generous with their time and input. During the course of three weeks, IFES spent hours with nearly two dozen commission representatives. The ECT was open, forthcoming with information, and responsive to requests. The assessment team also thanks the other stakeholders with whom they met for answering what must have seemed an endless array of questions. The success of this fact-finding exercise is due to the thoughtful input of all interviewed. IFES would also like to acknowledge the support provided by the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok Bangkok (băng`kŏk'), Thai Krung Thep, city (1990 pop. 8,538,610), capital of Thailand and of Bangkok prov., SW Thailand, on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River, near the Gulf of Thailand. and the funding for the PETA provided by the Office of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the Department of State. KEY TO ACRONYMS ABAC Assumption Business Administration College ANFREL The Asian Network for Free Elections AUSAID Australian Agency for International Development CDA Constitutional Drafting Assembly CDC Constitutional Drafting Committee CDR Council for Democratic Reform CNS Council for National Security ECT Election Commission of Thailand EU European Union GOTV Get out the Vote ICT Ministry of Communication and Information Technology LEC local election committee KPI King Prajadhipok Institute MOE Ministry of Education MOI Ministry of Interior MOI-RDA Ministry of Interior--Regional Development Office MP Member of Parliament NCCC National Counter-Corruption Commission NGO non-governmental organization OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe NHRC National Human Rights Commission NLA National Legislative Assembly PDA Population and Community Development Association PEC provincial election commission PETA pre-election technical assessment PNET People's Network for Elections in Thailand PM prime minister PSA public service announcement PVT parallel vote tabulation SMS short message service SNTV single non-transferable vote SRI Social Research Institute TBG tactile ballot guides TOT training of trainers TRT Thai Rak Thai TVM Thai Voting Machine UN United Nations USAID United States Agency for International Development |
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