Fierce Battles, Vote Buying Expected In Upcoming Thailand Polls ELECTION

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ELECTION

Fierce battles, vote buying expected in upcoming polls
By The Nation
2011-03-17

The Election Commission expects serious vote-buying moves and cut-throat competition in the run-up to the next general elections.

EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond said yesterday that rival political parties would be engaged in fierce battles - both on the surface and underground - to win governing power. He also said he expected EC officials and investigators to have a tough time looking into allegations of electoral fraud, saying there would be obstacles and political interference at both the local and national level.
EC member Prapun Naigowit expects severe competition among the parties and their candidates, saying the commission was worried there could be a repeat of incidents such as those at the 2009 by-elections, when some candidates' supporters prevented their competitors from campaigning.

"The EC is worried such incidents will take place again in many areas," he said.

Prapun also warned that the EC might disqualify candidates suspected of being behind or supporting such aggressive action, adding that vote buying was expected given the fierce competition.

Somchai Juengprasert, an EC member in charge of investigation, said it was difficult for his team to find concrete evidence proving that votes had been bought because tactics used were too sophisticated, such as making money transfers directly to the bank accounts of voters.

"In the past, the law only punished vote buyers, but now it punishes both the buyer and seller. So, voters don't file complaints once they get the money," he said.

The commissioners were speaking during a training session held in Bangkok yesterday for 622 EC investigators from 11 Central provinces. The participants included police officers, public prosecutors, as well as EC officials.

Somchai said the EC would focus on stopping candidates found involved in electoral fraud from entering the House of Representatives, and in order to achieve this goal, efficient investigators were necessary.

He said that while the 1997 constitution empowered the EC to disqualify winning candidates even after it has endorsed the outcome of the election, the current charter requires the commission to seek a court order first.

Somchai said that in practice the court process strictly relied on witnesses, and in some cases, the witnesses withdrew their testimony against vote-buying candidates.

"The EC strategy is to complete the investigation while it still has the power to disqualify candidates [within seven days after election]," Somchai said. "The investigators can help us effectively implement EC's strategy to keep bad people out of Parliament."

As for the three organic laws that will be amended for the upcoming election, Apichart said yesterday the EC was preparing the final drafts and he expected the amendments to be handed in for parliamentary deliberation tomorrow.

Apichart said it was the prime minister's intention to help push for the organic laws - rewritten to keep in line with recent changes made in the relevant constitutional clauses - to be passed by Parliament before House dissolution. However, he added that if the House is dissolved before the laws are passed, the EC would need to issue temporary orders for holding the next election without violating the amended charter.