Yappofloyd
21-09-05, 02:25 AM
With incredible speed and efficency that would scare the Germans, the EC has finally ruled on some of the challenges from the early Feb election. Small wonder Taksin doesn't declare an aim to have Thaialnd as the hub of electoral procedures!
It will be interesting to see if TRT can keep their 3 seats in the by-elections and how the Democrats fare given recent events.
Fresh by-elections to be held in four provinces Attayuth Butrsripoom, Sucheera Pinijparakarn The Nation September 21, 2005
The Election Commission (EC) yesterday disqualified four MPs for committing campaign violations and called for by-elections in Phichit, Sing Buri, Uthai Thani and Satun on October 30. “The EC issued three yellow cards against Thai Rak Thai MPs and a red card against a Democrat,” said EC member Prinya Nakchudtree. The yellow-carded MPs are Navin Boonseat from Phichit’s Constituency 3, Phayap Punket from Sing Buri’s Constituency 1 and Prasang Mongkonsiri from Uthai Thani’s Constituency 1. The three will be allowed to contest the by-elections.
Democrat MP Tanin Jaisamut from Satun’s Constituency 2 will be banned from running, although his party will be allowed to name a replacement candidate.Prinya said the EC found that the three government MPs were linked to handing out gifts in exchange for votes. Tanin’s disqualification was prompted by his campaign speeches, which the EC ruled contained malicious comments, he said.
In the lead-up to the general election, Thanin had distributed VCDs on last October’s Tak Bai anti-riot operation and blamed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for the bloodshed. Prinya said the EC decided to cancel two planned red cards after the Council of State opposed its rulings against Democrat MP Sata Awaekueji of Pattani and Mahachon MP Tun Jintavej of Ubon Ratchathani.
Sata was charged with making malicious comments in the Yawi dialect, while Tun was accused of campaigning beyond the deadline. The Council of State found that the EC had insufficient evidence to punish the two. EC chairman Wassana Permlarp said he was ready to fight Thanin in court. Last week, Tanin filed a criminal suit charging Wassana with the unlawful appointment of 1,200 election monitors, a precursor event leading to the investigation against him.
Tanin also argued that Wassana had failed to allow him to present his defence. Wassana countered that he had notified Tanin of the charges and had given him the opportunity to submit defence evidence. Said Tun:“I’m relieved, and I’ll move on to attend to my legislative duties.” The upcoming by-election in Phichit is expected once again to be a close race between Navin and Mahachon rival Siriwat Kachornprasart.
In the general election, Siriwat was narrowly defeated in his re-election bid by first-time candidate Navin. Navin said he was confident of repeating his victory, even though his father, Thai Rak Thai MP Adul Boonset, expressed concern about vote-buying. Adul claimed that voters in Constituency 3 were promised Bt500 per vote if they elected his son’s rival. Siriwat’s father, Mahachon Party leader Sanan Kachornprasart, said he would petition election monitors from Bangkok to supervise his son’s by-election, in order to prevent any campaign violations.
Opposition chief whip Sathit Wongnongtoey urged the EC to improve its transparency in adjudicating campaign offences. “The EC’s reputation has been tainted by speculation the government could sway EC decisions,” he said. Phayap said he had done nothing wrong. “Sing Buri people understand me, and I believe I’ll come back after the new election,” he said. Uthai Thani MP Prasang also said he he had not done nothing wrong. The party will present him as its candidate in the new round. Thai Rak Thai deputy spokesman Pimuk Simaroj said the party respected the EC’s decisions and would stand the former candidates in the new round of voting.
It will be interesting to see if TRT can keep their 3 seats in the by-elections and how the Democrats fare given recent events.
Fresh by-elections to be held in four provinces Attayuth Butrsripoom, Sucheera Pinijparakarn The Nation September 21, 2005
The Election Commission (EC) yesterday disqualified four MPs for committing campaign violations and called for by-elections in Phichit, Sing Buri, Uthai Thani and Satun on October 30. “The EC issued three yellow cards against Thai Rak Thai MPs and a red card against a Democrat,” said EC member Prinya Nakchudtree. The yellow-carded MPs are Navin Boonseat from Phichit’s Constituency 3, Phayap Punket from Sing Buri’s Constituency 1 and Prasang Mongkonsiri from Uthai Thani’s Constituency 1. The three will be allowed to contest the by-elections.
Democrat MP Tanin Jaisamut from Satun’s Constituency 2 will be banned from running, although his party will be allowed to name a replacement candidate.Prinya said the EC found that the three government MPs were linked to handing out gifts in exchange for votes. Tanin’s disqualification was prompted by his campaign speeches, which the EC ruled contained malicious comments, he said.
In the lead-up to the general election, Thanin had distributed VCDs on last October’s Tak Bai anti-riot operation and blamed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for the bloodshed. Prinya said the EC decided to cancel two planned red cards after the Council of State opposed its rulings against Democrat MP Sata Awaekueji of Pattani and Mahachon MP Tun Jintavej of Ubon Ratchathani.
Sata was charged with making malicious comments in the Yawi dialect, while Tun was accused of campaigning beyond the deadline. The Council of State found that the EC had insufficient evidence to punish the two. EC chairman Wassana Permlarp said he was ready to fight Thanin in court. Last week, Tanin filed a criminal suit charging Wassana with the unlawful appointment of 1,200 election monitors, a precursor event leading to the investigation against him.
Tanin also argued that Wassana had failed to allow him to present his defence. Wassana countered that he had notified Tanin of the charges and had given him the opportunity to submit defence evidence. Said Tun:“I’m relieved, and I’ll move on to attend to my legislative duties.” The upcoming by-election in Phichit is expected once again to be a close race between Navin and Mahachon rival Siriwat Kachornprasart.
In the general election, Siriwat was narrowly defeated in his re-election bid by first-time candidate Navin. Navin said he was confident of repeating his victory, even though his father, Thai Rak Thai MP Adul Boonset, expressed concern about vote-buying. Adul claimed that voters in Constituency 3 were promised Bt500 per vote if they elected his son’s rival. Siriwat’s father, Mahachon Party leader Sanan Kachornprasart, said he would petition election monitors from Bangkok to supervise his son’s by-election, in order to prevent any campaign violations.
Opposition chief whip Sathit Wongnongtoey urged the EC to improve its transparency in adjudicating campaign offences. “The EC’s reputation has been tainted by speculation the government could sway EC decisions,” he said. Phayap said he had done nothing wrong. “Sing Buri people understand me, and I believe I’ll come back after the new election,” he said. Uthai Thani MP Prasang also said he he had not done nothing wrong. The party will present him as its candidate in the new round. Thai Rak Thai deputy spokesman Pimuk Simaroj said the party respected the EC’s decisions and would stand the former candidates in the new round of voting.