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History & Founding
The Democrat Party has the longest history of all political parties in Thailand. The Party was a major opposition party in the years after its 1946 founding, playing a key role in building a democratic consciousness in the 40s and 50s. Thailand plunged into dictatorship from 1958-68, and repeatedly thereafter, In the interim between dictatorships, the Democrat Party was often the major opposition, and sometimes the ruling party. Throughout the 1980s, the Democrat Party grew stronger in tandem with Thai democracy. When Thailand’s most recent military coup occurred in 1992, the Democrat Party was a crucial part of the “People Power” movement. The Democrat Party has built a long-standing record of commitment to democracy.
Platform & Policies
Now, after two terms in power during the last decade, the Democrat Party is again Thailand’s largest opposition party. The Democrat Party has not forgotten Thailand’s history of coups and corruption. Among the Party’s most basic principles, then, is top conduct itself according to the precepts of law and morality, to oppose dictatorship of any kind, and to honestly serve the public interest of Thailand.
It is the policy of the Democrat Party to decentralize administrative power to local authorities, building viable institutions of local government.
Economically, the Democrat Party believes in redressing Thailand’s imbalance of wealth by making economic opportunities available in the countryside, by encouraging industrial diversification, improving the output of the agricultural sector, and promoting education in rural areas. The Party also sees the need to promote Thailand as Indochina’s economic center as well as its tourism center. This means establishing a national infrastructure and developing skilled workers to effect a transition from labor-intensive to technology-intensive industries.
The Democrat Party also strives to protect the Thai cultural heritage; uphold respect for the institution of the monarchy which unites the country, expand mandatory education to the twelfth grade, and support welfare. |
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