Thai villagers complain to Election Commission over alleged vote-buying

[webfact]

Photo via Sanook.

 

by Samantha Rose

Thai Villagers from Non Reuang, in the district of Ban Kho in the northeast Khon Kaen province, stormed the Election Commission (EC) office with their lawyer and village headman, accusing a well-known political party’s candidate of engaging in vote-buying activities.

 

The villagers presented video clips and witness statements to the investigative team, along with an official complaint against the alleged wrongdoer.

 

Wachara Seesalat, director of the Khon Kaen EC office, met the villagers while overseeing the normal election administration process. The alleged vote-buying incident took place during a political speech, and the villagers recorded clear video evidence of the candidate handing out money to attendees, Sanook reported. As soon as the villagers arrived, Wachara began questioning the witnesses, keeping the media and unrelated personnel out of the investigation room.

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/politics/villagers-file-complaint-with-election-commission-after-high-profile-party-candidate-distributes-money

 

-- © Copyright  THAI NEWSROOM 2023-05-08

 

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[nglodnig]

The villagers stormed the EC complaining "We got 5000 baht last time, now it's only three!"

[ezzra]

I'd be a lot more surprised if there wasn't any vote buying and no monies were offered.

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

and the villagers recorded clear video evidence of the candidate handing out money to attendees

Isn't there a party which promised to hand out 10,000B to everybody if they are elected? ... 

[BoganInParasite]

Very disappointed the wife has never been approached by anyone to buy her vote. Instead she seems very keen on making up her own mind.

[hotchilli]

No mention of which candidate was being naughty?

[Henryford]

What's to stop them taking the money but vote for someone else?

[rwill]

Number four has been offering money here.

 

Last election money was handed out for votes but they would say it was for gas maney so you could attend their rallies.

[quake]

Outrageous. 

Dishonesty in Thailand. well I never. 

[mfd101]

1 hour ago, Henryford said:

What's to stop them taking the money but vote for someone else?

What any sensible person would do.

[JoePai]

1 hour ago, BoganInParasite said:

Very disappointed the wife has never been approached by anyone to buy her vote. Instead she seems very keen on making up her own mind.

Mine picked up 500 baht last night - but still makes her own mind up  ????

[mancub]

Thailand holds Auctions not "Elections" ????

[mrfill]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Isn't there a party which promised to hand out 10,000B to everybody if they are elected? ... 

Everybody - not just those who voted for them.

That's not vote buying, unless you regard promising tax cuts and then implementing them  as vote buying.

[TigerandDog]

1 hour ago, Henryford said:

What's to stop them taking the money but vote for someone else?

that's easy to answer. Where I am, if the money is accepted then the ID card has to be handed over to the candidate or his representative, and they cast the votes on behalf of the people. Similar to those in our village who work voluntarily for the local health authority. They've had to hand their ID cards over and their votes are given to Anutin's lacky. My wife's uncle was told he could not refuse to hand over his ID card and make his own decision as to who he wished to vote for.  I'll give the old geezer credit, he told them to go take a running jump and that he would vote for who he wanted to.

[OneMoreFarang]

If anybody wants to know how vote buying works successfully, I recommend this book:

 

Guns, Girls, Gambling, Ganja: Thailand's Illegal Economy and Public Policy: Phongpaichit, Pasuk, Piriyarangsan, Sungsidh, Treerat, Nualnoi: 9789747100754: Amazon.com: Books

 

Politicians are smart enough to find ways that people actually vote for them to get (more) money.

[Sydebolle]

I keep on telling the same to all my staff for decades; take all the money you can get and vote for whatever you feel like. If you are too confused or uncertain, stay at home. Nobody will ever come back and complain for not having voted for them as the latter is - according to the local regulations - illegal. 

[SunsetT]

My lady says many candidates did this in the past. So they just took the money from all and still chose freely who they wanted to voted for.

[roquefort]

7 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

If anybody wants to know how vote buying works successfully, I recommend this book:

 

Guns, Girls, Gambling, Ganja: Thailand's Illegal Economy and Public Policy: Phongpaichit, Pasuk, Piriyarangsan, Sungsidh, Treerat, Nualnoi: 9789747100754: Amazon.com: Books

 

Politicians are smart enough to find ways that people actually vote for them to get (more) money.

Thanks for the recommendation. The book is from 1998, the year I first came to Thailand, but I'm sure most of its content still applies. Very little seems to have changed in the intervening 25 years.

[herfiehandbag]

10 hours ago, hotchilli said:

No mention of which candidate was being naughty?

Just laying some groundwork in case a "fix" needs to go in.

[OneMoreFarang]

57 minutes ago, roquefort said:

Thanks for the recommendation. The book is from 1998, the year I first came to Thailand, but I'm sure most of its content still applies. Very little seems to have changed in the intervening 25 years.

I read it about that time and it opened my eyes.

And as far as I remember I wouldn't be surprised if the vote buying still works that way.

The book also describes many other areas of Thai business. I can recommend it for everybody. 

[brucegoniners]

They're complaining now? That's what got them to vote for Thaksin before, lol

[torturedsole]

This practice doesn't rest well with Western sensibilities but has been going on forever and will continue to do so. 

 

Falang will never influence anything here so no point trying but still a fantastic holiday destination. Don't mix business with pleasure and all's well for Johnny Foreigner.