Front Running Party In Thai Polls Could Be Disbanded Over Alleged Electoral Offences

[bingobongo]

grab your popcorn boys and girls as the circus is about to begin.......

The People Power Party (PPP), which is leading opinion polls for elections on 23 December, stands accused of electoral offences. A number of complaints have been brought against the party; the most significant involves video footage reportedly showing former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra urging voters in the north-east (his traditional heartland) to back the PPP, which mainly comprises former members of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party. Given that the TRT has been dissolved and Thaksin banned from politics, his apparent involvement in the PPP campaign has prompted complaints. The Election Commission (EC) is due to meet tomorrow to rule on the complaints, but has warned that even if the PPP is found to have breached electoral rules it is unlikely to be dissolved until after the elections. The PPP itself has made a complaint which the EC is also expected to rule on. The PPP has sourced a document which it claims is an order from the Council for National Security (CNS) for soldiers to stop the party from winning the polls. In a related story, around 30 activists from the Democracy Confederation tried to hand an open letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The Secretary-General is currently in Thailand to hold talks with interim prime minister Surayud Chulanont. The activists are seeking Ban Ki-moon's help to ensure that the elections are free and fair. The Democracy Group argues that under the current circumstances "genuine" democracy cannot be restored. Alongside this, reports of vote buying continue. They have surfaced regularly during the campaign, and currently focus on reports that campaigners are using telephone credit as bribery for votes, as they are concerned that cash handouts are too easy to track.

Significance: Current events suggest that those who believe the forthcoming elections will stabilise Thai politics may be disappointed. The situation should become clearer in coming days, but an EC ruling against the PPP would create post-poll upheaval if the party is dissolved. The events of the past 18 months have made a mockery of progress in a country where democracy looked to have taken hold during the 1990s, and serious questions need to be posed about the handling of the political situation and these polls.