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."