Something is rotten in Thailand election

Something is rotten in Thailand election

BANGKOK (DPA): Rampant graft in Thailand's general election
campaign has raised an unbearable stink, literally, for the
Election Commission, whose job it is to keep the polls clean, a
news report said on Thursday.

The Election Commission has asked permission to get rid of
stacks of rotten eggs and fish sauce that have piled up in its
office as evidence of vote buying, the Bangkok Post newspaper
said.

Election Commission Secretary General Vijit Yusuparp said his
office had been flooded with articles allegedly distributed by
canvassers to buy votes since last month, when the campaign for
the Jan. 6 election was officially launched.

"I can't believe it," Vijit said at a briefing Wednesday. "We
have more than 2,000 candidates who are well-educated and highly
qualified, but most of them seem to be doing everything they can
to cheat."

The campaign for 500 seats in Thailand's lower house of
parliament is under the close scrutiny of the Election
Commission, set up by Thailand's 1997 Constitution to monitor all
national polls and disqualify candidates who are caught buying
votes or breaking other electoral regulations.

The commission initially disqualified 78 of the 200 successful
candidates in the Senate election in March and called for four
by- elections, delaying the establishment of the Senate by five
months before it was satisfied with the results.

It is expected to hold two by-elections after the Jan. 6 poll
because the clean-up process must be completed within 30 days
after the election to allow a new government to be set up.

There are fears that if too many candidates are disqualified,
the Election Commission will delay the establishment of a
government too long, creating a political vacuum that might be
filled by the politically inclined Thai military, which has
staged 23 coups over the past seven decades.

Thailand's election watchdog conceded on Thursday the complete
and final results of the Jan. 6 general election may miss a Feb.
5 deadline.

However, the powerful election commission is not worried about
creating a political power vacuum after the scheduled Jan. 6,
2001, polls, and has a few options for making sure a government
is in place by Feb. 5 next year, officials said on Thursday.

Election Commissioners Gothom Arya and Yuvarut Gamolvej
brushed off fears that their organization, which is responsible
for assuring a clean and fair general election and disqualifying
candidates who cheat, would delay the formation of Thailand's
post-election government by much more than 30 days, its deadline.

"We have a few options," said Yuvarut. He told a press
conference that the Election Commission expected to hold at least
two re-elections between the Jan. 6 polls and the Feb. 5 deadline
to clear out most of the cheaters.

After that, it can either choose to call a third re-election
or allow the establishment of a new Lower House, despite its
"reservations" with some of the winners.
"We may be forced to announce the results with reservations about
certain candidates," Gothom said. "I'm not confident they will
all be clean, but the law says we need to have 500 MPs by
February 5."