Probe delays announcement of Thai election results
Probe delays announcement of Thai election results
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai election authorities grilled on Sunday dozens more candidates suspected of cheating in the Jan. 6 national polls, forcing the release of official results to be postponed yet again.
Unofficial tallies indicate the Thai Rak Thai party led by Thaksin Shinawatra scored a runaway victory in the national elections, capturing an unprecedented simple majority in the 500- seat House of Representatives.
But widespread allegations of vote-buying and ballot box tampering have caused extensive delays in the ballot-counting process as officials labor to investigate the charges.
About 90 candidates have now been summoned for questioning by the EC, and more than a dozen reportedly face disqualification after being found guilty of cheating.
The rest may be given a "yellow card" warning that will entitle them to run in re-elections scheduled to be held in affected constituencies on Jan. 29.
EC commissioner Yuwarut Gamolvej told reporters on Sunday after a day spent questioning the latest crop of suspect poll winners that all the "red card" disqualifications would be handed out on Monday, and the warnings on Tuesday.
Official results would be released all together on Wednesday, instead of being unveiled progressively from Sunday as had been planned earlier, he said.
Heartened by Interior Ministry figures that indicate Thai Rak Thai has won 258 seats in the lower house, Thaksin has gone about the business of forming a coalition and releasing policies.
But The Bangkok Post said on Sunday that the fledgling party's majority could be whittled away by the disqualifications, forcing it to take on an extra coalition partner to ensure stability in parliament.
Thaksin is aiming for a 320-seat coalition, with the New Aspiration Party considered a likely first choice as its partner in government.
However, both parties have been badly hit by the EC's investigations and another smaller party may be brought into the ruling alliance as a result, the daily said.
Thak Rak Thai executive Chamlong Krudkhunthod reportedly conceded that the party's plans might be upset if too many of its winning candidates were disqualified.
"If we can't win the majority, we will lose some negotiating power. The party might lose to its coalition partners some key ministries its wants to keep," he told the Post.
Thak Rai Thai is keen to retain the Finance, Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, Public Health and Interior ministries, he said.
However, he said he was confident the fledgling party would win back the seats "taken away" by the EC when the re-votes are held.