Key events on 6 January 2014
          The Election Commission (EC) disqualified 87 out of 1,249 candidates in the party-list candidate registration as they did not meet the qualifying criteria. The candidates had either failed to cast their vote in the past or had been a member of their political party for less than 30 days. The disqualified candidates could appeal to the Election Cases Division of the Supreme Court.
           The Director-General of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) said that DSI would apply to the Criminal Court for arrest warrants to be issued against 33 PDRC leaders on 8 January 2014 after they had failed to report before the DSI, as per the summons issued, without showing reasonable grounds.
           The People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) announced the routes for the protest march on 7 January 2014 from Ratchadamnoen Avenue to Thon Buri and back to the main rally site near Democracy Monument.

Key events on 7 January 2014
           The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), by a vote of 7 to 2, resolved to press charges against 308 out of 381 former Members of Parliament and Senators for proposing and passing a draft amendment of the Constitution regarding the composition of the Senate. The NACC found that the group’s attempt to amend the Constitution by making the Senate a fully elected chamber was a violation of Section 68 of the Constitution.                                                                                                                                                                                  The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) called a meeting of its leaders from across the country in Nakhon Ratchasima to discuss plans to counter any possibility of a putsch which they believe could be triggered by anti-government protesters' efforts to paralyze Bangkok.                                                                                                                                                                                       Various government and private organizations/entities have assessed the impacts of the PDRC’s shut down of Bangkok as follows:

           - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce said that if the political conflict deteriorates and turns violent to the point where it affects public spending, the country’s economic growth in 2014 will be 3 – 3.5 per cent from the previously forecasted growth rate of 4 – 5 per cent;
           - The Deputy Minister for Commerce assessed that the political rallies have impacted upon the stock and financial market and tourism. The rallies also resulted in higher production costs for manufacturers, a reduction in retail sales and consumer’s confidence;
           - The spokesperson of the Bank of Thailand said that the impact of the proposed shut down of Bangkok cannot yet be assessed but Thailand has overcome political crises and major flooding in the past so both the public and the private sectors are resilient enough to continue to discharge their duties effectively;
           -  The President of the Tourism Council of Thailand said that the number of Chinese and Russian tourists for 2014 will see a 25 – 30 per cent reduction from previous forecast. For the whole of January 2014, the number of tourists will fall by 400,000, which is tantamount to 18 billion baht in loss of revenue. The President of Thai Hotel Association informed that the occupancy rates of accommodation in Bangkok has fallen from 80 per cent to 70 -75 per cent;
           -  The Director-General of the Department of Civil Aviation said that Singapore Airlines announced its plan to cancel 19 flights coming to Bangkok from 15 January to 22 February 2013 while Cathay Pacific planned to reduce one inbound flight per day from 7 to 14 January 2014;
           -  The President of Thai Federation Industries said that the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) held a meeting to discuss the current political rally and concluded that: 1) the JSCCIB does not agree with the use of violence under any circumstances; 2) the JSCCIB wants to see the conflict resolved peacefully at the earliest opportunity; 3) As for the planned shut down of Bangkok on 13 January 2014, the JSCCIB called on all parties involved to take into account its side effects such as the impact on SMEs.

Key events on 8 January 2014
   
           The Constitution Court ruled by a majority vote that the draft amendment to Section 190 of the Constitution was unconstitutional. The Court found that amending Section 190 of the Constitution would be tantamount to excluding the general public from issues that are of vital interests and, therefore, undermines the principle of checks-and-balances between the administrative and the legislature as it would give the Government almost full authority to commit the country to most international agreements without prior consent of the legislature. The Court deliberated on both the proposed content of the draft amendment and the procedure, both of which were found to be flawed as the Opposition was not given enough time to properly debate the draft amendment in detail.

           Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Police Lieutenant Colonel Kirtsana Pattanacharoen, Deputy Spokesperson of the Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO), briefed foreign diplomats about Thai government's preparations as well as measures taken to reduce the impacts of the PDRC’s planned shut down of Bangkok at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attended by Ambassadors and diplomatic representatives from over 60 embassies/ international organizations. Concerns were raised regarding the safety and security of diplomatic premises, diplomatic representatives in Thailand and foreign nationals residing in the Kingdom to which both the Permanent Secretary and CAPO Deputy Spokesperson assured foreign diplomats that the Government dispatched the army and police combined forces to maintain peace and security. Should members of the diplomatic corps and international organizations suspect any untoward activity, a call should be made immediately to alert the authorities. With regard to passage of diplomatic vehicles through blockaded intersections, the Permanent Secretary said he would relay the message to members of the Thai media in his press encounter after the briefing in the hope that all sides involved would take into account Thailand’s obligations, as the receiving State, under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in according diplomatic representatives due immunities and privileges.   

Key events on 9 January 2014
          The Criminal Court dismissed the DSI’s request for the issuance of arrest warrants for 35 key PDRC leaders stating that the DSI had failed to issue a second set of summonses. Some of the accused had received the summonses and their legal representatives had sent formal letters stating that their clients   acknowledged the charges and would testify before the DSI. The Court, therefore, dismissed the DSI’s request. 
           The PDRC marched to Thonburi to garner support for the planned shutdown of Bangkok on 13 January 2014 before heading back to the main rally site at Democracy Monument.
            The Office of the Auditor-General sent a letter to the EC requesting the latter to review plans to hold a general election on 2 February 2014 due to the high possibility that the budget used in organizing the elections might be wasted and not in line with the best use of state funding.
            The Director of the Centre for Economic and Business Forecasting, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, forecasted that the proposed shutdown of Bangkok would reduce the GDP by 0.1 to 0.2 per cent.

Key events on 10 January 2014
             The PDRC announced that it would blockade 7 major intersections in Bangkok, namely: 1) Chang Wattana Government Complex, Lad Phrao intersection, Victory Monument, Pathum Wan intersection, Lum Phini intersection, Asoke intersection and Raj Prasong intersection.
            The Public Health Ministry announced that it would open medical service units in 26 locations as part of the measures to cope with the planned shutdown of Bangkok proposed by the PDRC. The Permanent Secretary for Public Health met with representatives from hospitals under the Public Health Ministry’s supervision and state agencies to work out the plan to provide medical coverage to affected areas. The Public Health Ministry urged non-emergency patients to seek medical care in non-affected areas.
DPM and FM Surapong made a televised announcement informing the public of measures taken by the Government to cope with the planned shutdown of Bangkok and urged the public to lead a normal life as the Government had dispatched army and police combined forces to maintain safety and security. The DPM also announced key emergency contact numbers during the planned shutdown, including: 1111 for information relating to the protest, 199 for fire, 1669 for those in need of medical attention, 1356 for public transport-related queries, 1197 for traffic queries and 1155 for tourist call centre. The DPM also advised the public to take extra care in sharing news or messages so as not to disseminate faulty information.

     * * * * *