New poll called for April 23

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Tuesday, April 4, 2006

New poll called for April 23


PHUKET: Voters are to go to the polls once more on April 23 after Phuket’s two Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) candidates, running unopposed, failed to get elected to Parliament on April 2.

Dr Sriyada Palimapan, running for office in District 1, which covers Phuket City and the surrounding area, garnered a total of 11,910 votes, far outweighed by the 41,903 “no votes” cast in the district.

Polling just over 12% of all eligible voters, Dr Sriyada’s tally fell far short of the 20% needed for an unopposed candidate to be elected.

In District 2, the TRT’s Wisut Santikul, also running unopposed, also failed to get elected. He received 13,088 votes, or about 12.5% of the total electorate in the district. Nearly four times as many people, a total of 49,181, marked the “no vote” box.

In District 1, voter turnout was 64.89% while in District 2 it was 66.36%.

After the vote, Dr Sriyada acknowledged that she had received fewer votes this time than in the last general election, in February 2005.

“One reason was that the number of people who voted was down while another was a misunderstanding about another District 1 candidate who was disqualified just before the election, which some people didn’t know about,” she said.

K. Wisut blamed his failure to get elected on three factors – the Democrat boycott of the election, continuing rallies by the People’s Alliance for Democracy, and the attack by supposed Thai Rak Thai supporters in Chiang Mai on Democrat elder statesman Chuan Leekpai, shortly before the election.

The attackers rained chairs, eggs and paint on Democrat leaders after they spoke at a rally on March 30.

“I was expecting 21,000 to 22,000 votes,” K. Wisut said, “but I think what happened to Chuan had a big effect.” However, he confirmed that he will run in the election replay on April 23.

It is currently unclear whether the Democrat Party, Phuket’s traditional favorites, will run in the second round of voting; the party, along with Chart Thai and Mahachon, boycotted the April 2 poll after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra rejected political reforms they had proposed.

The local Democrat leader, Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, told the Gazette today that the party will hold a national meeting on Thursday to decide what course to follow.

Registration of candidacies will take place on April 8 and 9.

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Phuket, Thailand
18:19 local time (GMT +7)





Wednesday, April 5, 2006

Democrats see Thaksin 'resignation' as a ploy




Members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy celebrate after Thaksin Shinawatra announced he would not be PM in the next Parliament. - Photo by EPA/STR




PHUKET: The island’s Democrats have announced that they will boycott new elections called for April 23 because they are not satisfied with Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s pledge not to accept the post of Prime Minister in the next Parliament.

In a dramatic speech broadcast live last night by all TV channels, the PM announced that he would not be Prime Minister in a new Parliament, but that he would continue to be an MP and leader of the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party.

This has raised concerns among his opponents that any TRT Prime Minister would be a puppet, with Thaksin pulling the strings.

Former Democrat MP for District 2, Chalermlak Kebsup, told the Gazette this morning, “We have to examine this more closely. PM Thaksin has said he will resign after Parliament convenes, but right now he is still the PM. People may believe that all the problems have been solved, but if you think about it nothing has changed.

“What the PM did last night was for his own benefit. Ordinary people who do not understand politics in depth will have seen his announcement and will admire him. But last night, as I was listening to him, many people called me to ask, ‘What does it mean?’

“He said that he would continue to push TRT policies [after stepping down], so that means nothing has changed.

“If he is sincere [about resigning] it will be good, but if he is simply maneuvering for position, things will get worse because he will be able to shift blame onto the new Prime Minister.”

“In fact, the PM and the entire Cabinet should quit, making way for a royally-appointed interim Prime Minister to take over running of the country,” she added.

One of the leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), Sondhi Limtongkul, remained suspicious after Thaksin’s announcement. He was quoted by Bangkok media as saying that he was “25% satisfied”. The PAD would continue to oppose Thaksin as long as he remains in the Prime Minister’s chair, he said.

As things stand, Thaksin will remain in the chair until the new Parliament is convened and a new PM can be elected by MPs. Just when that will happen is not clear; if opposition parties continue to boycott elections, the likely result will be a repeat of the April 2 poll, which left dozens of provinces – including Phuket – without MPs. Without enough MPs nationwide, Parliament cannot be convened.

On April 2, local TRT candidates Dr Sriyada Palimapan and Wisut Santikul both failed to garner the minimum 20% of all eligible votes required to take a seat in parliament, as required by election law in the case of candidates running unopposed.

Both have confirmed that they will run again in the April 23 poll. Dr Sriyada, who is the TRT’s party leader in Phuket, said this morning, “The TRT in Phuket must continue its work. We will continue to do our duty as members of the party.”

Commenting on Thaksin’s announcement, she said, “I think this will improve the political atmosphere. The skies will become clearer.”

Such clarity may not be that easy to come by, however. For the present, a standoff continues: Thaksin will not vacate the PM’s office until a new Parliament is convened and the Democrats will continue to boycott elections until he steps down, which will mean no Parliament can be convened.