Certainly reconciliation does not mean we have to allow Thaksin and his cronies to escape justice for the numerous corruption scandals in which they indulged themselves while in power during the past five and a half years. All of them should be presumed innocent unless proven guilty and they should have the right to due process of law. Make no mistake, any proposal for national reconciliation that involves compromising democratic principles, sound governance and public accountability will never be acceptable. Prerequisites for national reconciliation include not only Thaksin being removed from politics, but also the launching of an independent inquiry into allegations of corruption and conflicts of interest involving Thaksin, his family and their cronies, along with any government officials who facilitated their misdeeds and crimes.

If there is sufficient evidence to substantiate corruption charges against them, they must be tried in the court of justice. Those found guilty must be punished and their ill-gotten wealth confiscated.

After cleaning up politics by making sure people guilty of corruption and other wrongdoers are punished, we can move to the next step - planning a thorough constitutional reform that will transform the Kingdom's seriously flawed democracy into a well-functioning one that genuinely serves the public interest. In order to do that, Thai society must understand how Thaksin managed to manipulate pre-existing conditions to his advantage and then propel himself into the country's top political office in the first place.

Thaksin's efforts at manipulation have been well documented. They include the ingenious use of populist policies that pander to the unprincipled wants and needs of the people. This complemented his party's huge war chest financed by Thaksin's own fabulous personal wealth. In most rural constituencies, outright vote-buying remains a key determinant in elections. Once Thaksin gained power, he proceeded to subvert the Constitution by undermining independent watchdog agencies, including the Constitution Court, the National Counter Corruption Commission and the Election Commission. Their job was to ensure the rule of law, serve as checks and balances on government power, and ensure sound governance, public accountability and fair competition among political parties.

After such comprehensive abuse, these constitutionally mandated organisations could no longer serve their stated purposes. They started to toe the Thaksin government's line and became instruments that the Thai Rak Thai leader could use to bend the rules, both to tighten his grip on power and to advance the selfish interests of himself and his cronies at the expense of the public good. Not even the supposedly politically neutral Senate has escaped this ignominious fate.

In virtually every single compromised watchdog agency one can find allegations of collusion between the Thaksin government and those senators charged with nominating and appointing members to those "independent" bodies. One also finds allegations that people friendly to the government have been installed.

It should thus hardly come as a surprise that none of the alleged corruption and high-handed manipulation of democratic institutions by Thaksin and his cronies has resulted in punishments.

Only after Thai politics has been purged of Thaksin's legacy of corruption can the country's democracy return to the supremacy of the ballot box. After all, this is the best possible means for Thai people to hire and fire their government officials.