Revote order expected in 50 places in Thailand

Revote order expected in 50 places in Thailand

BANGKOK (AP): Thailand's Election Commission will throw out
the results in at least 50 constituencies and order revoting
because of suspected fraud and cheating during the Jan. 6 general
election, officials said on Monday.

The revote, scheduled for Jan. 29, throws into uncertainty the
victory claimed by telecom tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, whose Thai
Rak Thai party won 256 seats in the 500-seat parliament. It was
the first time any party had won a majority in general elections.

"The commission is unable to say how many constituencies need
revotes, but what we can say is that the number may range from 50
to 100," Election Commissioner Gothom Arya said.

Other officials in the commission, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said re-elections may be held in 90 constituencies
where the commission found evidence of widespread vote-buying,
counting irregularities or other fraud.

Most of the constituencies investigated by the commission are
in northeastern Thailand, the stronghold of Thai Rak Thai, or
Thai Love Thai, one official said, speaking on condition of
anonymity.

He said at least 50 victorious Thai Rak Thai candidates may
have to face re-election.

Under new election rules, the commission can bar candidates
from contesting in the revote if there is clear evidence of fraud
against them.

During the past weeks, the commission has investigated 100
candidates, and summoned another 13 today for interrogation
Monday. At least 14 of the 113 candidates are expected to be
disqualified and banned from contesting not only the re-elections
but also any other polls for one year, officials said.

Other officials have said in the past that at least five of
the 14 candidates belong to Thai Rak Thai. The names of the
tainted candidates will be announced on Jan. 27.

In the face of mounting political uncertainty, Thaksin said
Monday that he will have to halt his preparations for forming a
coalition government.

Thaksin has indicated a preference for a coalition despite
winning a majority to ensure a parliamentary stability for his
government. But with his candidates facing disqualifications or
revotes, Thaksin now faces the prospect of losing his majority
and being forced to look for coalition partners just to be in
power.

"So far I do not know how many seats are to be re-elected but
once the E.C. announces it, I will spend most of my time in a
(new) election campaign," Thaksin told reporters.

Meanwhile, some 400 policemen were deployed outside the
Election Commission office in Bangkok Monday in anticipation of
protests by supporters of disqualified candidates, police
spokesman Maj. Gen. Pongsapat Pongcharoen told reporters.

On Sunday, several hundreds protesters blocked the main road
in the southern town of Chumporn, about 500 kilometers south of
Bangkok, for more than seven hours before dispersing at 2 a.m.,
police said.

About 500 people also staged a noisy protest in the
northeastern town of Khonkhaen, accusing the Election Commission
of unfairly treating a winning candidate from Thai Rak Thai.

Similar protests were seen in the northern town of Utaradit.