Thaksin quits

"My reason for not accepting the post of prime minister is because this year is an auspicious year for the King, whose 60th anniversary on the throne is just 60 days away. I want all Thais to reunite."

Thaksin Shinawatra finally caved in. In a televised address that began at 8:30pm last night he announced his decision not to seek another term as prime minister. The country, politically divided and unsure of its future following Sunday's election, was stunned. During the address from Government House, Thaksin contained his emotions and asked for national reconciliation so the country could enjoy the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King's ascension to the throne.

Thaksin's change of heart came after an audience with HM the King at about 5:30pm at Klai Kangwon Palace in Hua Hin.

Few observers expected a significant announcement after the meeting because Prommin Lertsuridej, the prime minister's secretary, hinted that it was simply a routine meeting between Thaksin and His Majesty.

But a Thai Rak Thai source said tersely that it was a "special audience" with the King. Tension had spread across the country following the uncertain outcome of Sunday's election and Thaksin's insistence that he would continue to serve as prime minister, despite facing the apparent opposition of about half the electorate.

Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the core leader of the anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) said the alliance will still hold a demonstration on Friday but will then pause on the condition that the Thaksin system that the care taker premier himself presided over be dismantled.

"I'm still worried," said Sondhi, after meeting four other PAD leaders. "The party is the same. They'll still meet at [his] home and it's not different from Thaksin still being the prime minister." Sondhi warned, however, that the protest might continue if the government continued to intimidate the media and curb people's rights to information, or if Thaksin tried to cling to power after this month.

On Monday, during an interview on Channel 11, Thaksin's tone bordered on belligerent and provocative.

However, yesterday he was composed and persuasive in his calls for national reconciliation. With the opposition's electoral boycott, Thai Rak Thai won the election with 16 million votes, yet there were 10 million "no votes" and almost two million spoiled ballots, which represented protest votes. The result has been seen by many as a demonstration that Thaksin and his party have failed to gain the necessary mandate to govern.

At Sanam Pao yesterday afternoon, before taking a helicopter to Hua Hin, Thaksin was greeted by a group military friends who wished him well amid rumours of a military reshuffle. Thaksin relaxed at his resort home in Cha-am before he met HM the King.

As soon as Thaksin's meeting with the Monarch ended, rumours that a major announcement would be made began circulating. Thaksin's wife, Pojaman, and their two daughters, Pinthongta and Paetongtarn, went to greet him after his return from Hua Hin.

In his address carried through TV pool, Thaksin appeared ashen. Before announcing he would not be able to serve as prime minister he apologised to the 16 million people who voted for his party.

"The situation in the country is precarious and we need to make haste to find reconciliation. In a conflict, one party may lose and the other may win. But the reality is that the whole nation will lose from this conflict," he said.

He added that this was an auspicious year, marking 60 years of the King's reign, when the world's royalty will attend the grand event in June.

"We have fewer than 60 days to prepare for this important ceremony. It does not bode well for the country if we can't end the conflict," Thaksin said.

Thaksin will serve as caretaker prime minister until Parliament chooses a replacement. This leaves the date when he will finally step down a mystery because Sunday's election did not produce the 500 MPs required by the Constitution for Parliament to be convened. Before his televised address Thaksin told his Cabinet: "I have to step down because otherwise Parliament cannot be convened."

"People will make a case out of [his remaining in power] to stop the House from convening," he said, referring to his opponents. His decision left many of his supporters in tears. But Thaksin insisted he would not disappear from the political scene and said he would remain as an MP and Thai Rak Thai leader. He will continue to push for the implementation of new policies and protect key initiatives, such as the Bt30 healthcare scheme, the war against drugs, the campaign to eradicate poverty and the introduction of a mass transport system.

On Monday, Thaksin told the TV talk show he would fight on as prime minister. Although he did make some placatory remarks about national reconciliation, the premier insisted he would had to serve the 16 million voters who backed him.

Over the past three months, Thailand has been teetering on the edge of political disaster with the People's Alliance for Democracy campaigning for his exit from political life on allegations of corruption, cronyism and abuse of power.

Thousands have taken to the streets to demand his resignation and the country has been pushed to the limit in a climate of intense political polarisation.

Thaksin's departure will pave the way for national reconciliation and rebuilding of democratic institutions

There is no better proof of the resilience of Thailand's democracy under the constitutional monarchy than the interplay of political forces that has compelled Thai Rak Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra to forego his chance to become a third-term prime minister only two days after scoring yet another electoral landslide. The most remarkable thing is that the titanic struggle between Thaksin, a seriously-flawed, but democratically-elected leader, and the people who have taken to the streets to oppose him was played out over two volatile months without violence.

Even more wonderful is the fact that such a peaceful resolution to the most dangerous political conflict since the 1992 bloodbath was achieved through the exercise of ordinary citizens' constitutional rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, which are the hallmarks of well-functioning democracies everywhere. The People's Alliance for Democracy, the organiser of the anti-Thaksin campaign, has made effective use of non-violent protest as a weapon against the regime, which stands accused of corruption and anti-democratic tendencies.

The sustained peaceful protest - which first galvanised the middle-class elite and then persuaded members of society at all levels to rise up in defence of democracy, uphold the national interests and reassert their constitutional rights - enabled the whole society to engage in an intense public discourse on the most important question of the day: what constitutes the political legitimacy of a democratic leader?

It helped focus the collective mind of the people on the true spirit of democracy, not just the facade of democracy that has been cynically manipulated by Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai Party. The awakening of the usually apathetic public proved to be the desperately needed catalyst for positive change in Thailand's political landscape, which had been completely dominated by Thaksin for the past five years.

Without a doubt, a valuable lesson has been learned by the Thai people about democracy and how it can be made to work the way it is intended. People learned that they can take their fight to the streets against a government that has lost its legitimacy to rule, and they can also take their fight to the ballot box. The avalanche of abstention votes cast by democratic-loving citizens was a resounding rejection of Thaksin, his Thai Rak Thai Party and the culture of deceit and corruption that they stand for.

Credit must be given to security forces, assigned by the government to maintain peace and order, which consistently carried out their duty with restraint and discipline. They deserve praise for not allowing themselves to be used by the Thaksin government to suppress peaceful demonstrators. Thaksin's announcement that he will step down as caretaker prime minister after the House of Representatives elects a new prime minister is a great source of relief for the nation, which is beset by an unprecedented divisiveness that has pitted mostly wealthy urban middle-class citizens against poverty-stricken rural masses.

This is a time for national reconciliation. The Election Commission is planning new rounds of elections in single-candidate constituencies where the sole contestant failed to garner the requisite 20 per cent of eligible votes. The continuing election process must be completed without further delay now that rules have been relaxed to allow new candidates to take part in subsequent rounds.

One of the likeliest scenarios is that the Thai Rak Thai Party will form the core of the new government to oversee constitutional reforms, perhaps with some level of participation by impartial public figures or even members of opposition parties, which boycotted the election. And perhaps that sort of arrangement will still allow Thaksin to pull the strings behind the Thai Rak Thai-led government. Be that as it may, Thaksin's resignation to pave the way for a new prime minister did break the potentially violent impasse. All sides must now work together to ensure that the new government makes a clean break from the corruption-prone legacy and anti-democratic tendencies of the Thaksin regime. Under intense public scrutiny, it will be extremely difficult, if at all possible, for the new government to deviate from the people's renewed democratic aspirations.