Senate poll big step toward Thai democracy

Senate poll big step toward Thai democracy

BANGKOK (AP): Thailand's first Senate election was hailed on
Sunday as a major step toward full-fledged democracy, despite
rampant vote-buying and victories by wives of Cabinet ministers,
provincial godfathers and suspected underworld figures.

Observers praised the unprecedented voter turnout - at least
70 percent by the Election Commission's unofficial count - and
wins by independently-minded social workers, human rights
activists, academics and technocrats with sterling reputations.

The commission, double-checking figures and compiling ballots
from some outlying provinces, said official results would be
announced late Sunday or Monday, but it did not expect any major
changes.

"A new chapter of Thai politics has just been opened," said
former Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun, key architect of the
reformist 1997 Constitution that Saturday's Senate elections put
to the test for the first time.

The contest for 200 Senate seats among 1,521 candidates was
seen as one between the people's emerging power and traditional
money politics. The election for the Senate, authorized to act as
a powerful watchdog over the political scene, does not affect the
make-up of Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai's government.

The winners included slum worker Pratheep Ungsongtham and
Mechai Viravaidya, internationally recognized for his birth
control and anti-AIDS campaigns. Also elected was human rights
lawyer Thongbai Thongpao, one of four winners of the Magsaysay
Award, Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize, who will enter the
Senate.

Observers said such people, who have no connections with power
brokers, would serve as a counter-weight to those seeking to move
the Senate toward their self-interests.

But roughly one-half the winners were closely related by blood
or loyalty to politicians or powerful provincial godfathers.

One was Chaweewan Kanchornprasart, wife of the interior
minister, who denied accusations of vote-buying after amassing an
unusually large ballot count. Suspected and known underworld
figures also took seats in the new body.

But Saiyud Kerdpol, an official of one watch group, called the
election "a very good start," with senators coming from many
walks of life. While acknowledging the vote-buying, Saiyud said
the new enthusiasm for democracy had "disappointed" many who had
tried to buy votes.

While voting was mandatory, penalties were largely symbolic
and many voters had to travel for hours aboard packed buses and
trains to reach poll stations at their homes of record. The cost
of travel in most cases was higher than any cash corrupt
canvassers could offer.

An editorial from Sunday's editions of The Nation newspaper
called Saturday's election "a watershed in the ongoing democratic
development in Thailand."

Still, the Election Commission and independent watch groups
received thousands of calls complaining about vote-buying, fraud
and other irregularities.

Dubbed "ghost voting," several hundred voters turned up at
polls only to find their ballots had already been filled out.

Commission member Gothom Arya told The Associated Press that
investigations would be launched, with those found guilty of
fraud facing jail terms of up to 10 years.

The election was the first test of political reform under
Thailand's 1997 constitution, which attempts to increase
citizens' participation in politics while limiting the influence
of money and special interests.