The best way to resolve the current political impasse in Thailand was to hold the February 2 polls with a vow that winners would remain committed to reform agenda, according to a government backed forum.
The government-hosted forum was attended by politicians, academics and pro-regime red-shirts, but the opposition People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) leader Suthep Thaugsuban did not participate.
Suthep, who is spearheading the protests, has been insisting that caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra must step down and an interim, non-elected government administer the country before any new polls are held.
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The protesters accuse Yingluck of acting as a proxy for her fugitive brother Thaksin, who was ousted from power in 2006.
The participants in the forum agreed that talks on reforms should continue to ease groups' differences over the long-term, The Nation reported.
Representatives from seven major business organisations, the United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD or red shirts), the Assembly for the Defence of Democracy (AFDD), academics, permanent secretaries, police officers, state enterprise employees, the media, plus political parties and senators joined the forum yesterday.
Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Phonghtep Thepkanjana expressed disappointment that the PDRC opted out of the forum but said comprehensive reform would take years to complete.
However, it would take only two years to set a reform mechanism in place, for a transparent and fair political system and elections, he added.
He agreed with academics' proposals that politicians ratify the will to reform, before joining the election.
Any party winning the poll would have to carry out the reform process. After two years in office, the government would then dissolve the House and call a new election, the forum suggested.
Meanwhile, senior PDRC leader Sathit Wongnongtoey said that his group would start a pre-election reform campaign and vowed that the party would not soften its stance or seek any negotiations with the government.
Chaturon Chaisang, a leader of Pheu Thai Party, told the forum that the election would partially ease differences.
"The crisis stems from not only some groups' belief that the election will not be transparent, but also their lack of faith in the electoral system and democracy."
The issue now, he said, was how to ensure that the election was the best way to ease the crisis.
PMO secretary-general Tongthong Chandrangsu, who represented the government at the forum, said it was agreed at the forum that short-and long-term reforms were necessary and they will deal not only with political issues but also economic issues, corruption, a redistribution of administrative power, and equality. "No matter what happens in our Kingdom, the reforms must proceed," he said.
