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.