Issan Village Election Vote Buying

[fruity]

With polling day rapidly approaching, things are hotting up in our village. Thai democracy at its finest.

Sunday villagers will cast their votes for the new ; forgive the spelling; Arbuto's???? (village administrators)

In our village there are three Moo baan's, each one hotly contested. In our Moo baan, there are three individuals trying for the top job, which, I'm told pays 8k baht/month. Yesterday, my wife had visits from representatives of two of the candidates at different times, each one 'dropping' her B300 to secure her vote; she's not alone, anyone eligable to vote gets the 'bung'. In another Moo in the village, things are very hot, the candidates are giving everyone B500 to buy their vote!

A close friend of my wifes is again running for this job in another Moo, remember, 8k baht/month ; thus far she has shelled out B300,000 'BUYING' her way back into the job. It only goes to show how much money these people STEAL from the goverment allocated funds they are elected to administer to the village.

If successful, a four year 'stint' earning 8k month & who knows what else?????

Even after so many years, the blatently open way they are going about buying votes somewhat surprises me.

[tubber]

My wife always votes for the one that gives her the most money so looks like the one that is giving away 500B notes is the winner. 4years is a long time to mis-appropriate government funding and a good few satang.

[gzu88bv]

Money buys in the rice fields and is missing outside the rice fields......

[feffejonsson]

Business as usual.

Corruption is a cancer on thai society. Starting at the very top and working itself downwards to the grassroot level.

[pnustedt]

It's difficult getting any work done in the village at the moment - lately there have been a number of deaths, about one a week, which involves a three day party, then the political parties, a further day or two of partying each week. My sister-in-law hasn't emerged from her drunken haze for over a month now.

[bergen]

My wife does not take bribes for voting, but her sister in law takes money from all, and is always looking forward to the elections

[danfred]

The votes have just been counted in my village. My boyfriend ran in the election and committed to NOT buy any votes (I would have refused to let him anyway). This put him in a very interesting position as many people could not understand why he was running since he "already has money" and in reverse people were approaching him threatening NOT to vote for him UNLESS he have gave them some money. It appears that running for office for the good of the people is definitely a "foreign" concept. Truly unbelievable.

In the end he came in 4th and last in the election with 115 votes. The winner had 220 votes and had paid each voter in the village 100 baht for the win.

I don't see much hope. Even when given the chance to vote responsibly and for a candidate that is only interested in truly helping the people... they still let their votes get bought.

[Dave the Dude]

The votes have just been counted in my village. My boyfriend ran in the election and committed to NOT buy any votes (I would have refused to let him anyway). This put him in a very interesting position as many people could not understand why he was running since he "already has money" and in reverse people were approaching him threatening NOT to vote for him UNLESS he have gave them some money. It appears that running for office for the good of the people is definitely a "foreign" concept. Truly unbelievable.

In the end he came in 4th and last in the election with 115 votes. The winner had 220 votes and had paid each voter in the village 100 baht for the win.

I don't see much hope. Even when given the chance to vote responsibly and for a candidate that is only interested in truly helping the people... they still let their votes get bought.

Hi danfred

I have just found out the same situation in my village. My wife was a candidate and her friend who is equaly liked, was too. Unyet the 'outgoing' guy who has remained worryingly quiet and not visited our shop for a while,has been re-instatted. I am 100% sure money was involved in this FARCE.

Dave

[kerrs69]

Well in my wife's village my brother in law stood didn't pay anybody as he has nothing and i didn't finance it.

He had the same votes as his cousin a woman who paid everybody and anybody for votes they are sharing

and are both ovodors for the next 4 years

It will probably take her that long to pay the money she owns after paying everybody.

I don't no if they get 8000bht each per month or split it anybody no?So i no what his keep is going up to!!!!

Kerr's

[danfred]

I forgot to mention that when my boyfriend ran for office I as a "farang" was instructed by the family to stay clear away from any perceived involvement with the campaign. I naturally understood this. The day before the election I was not allowed to walk about the village while the last minute canvasing took place (I made it long shopping day in the city instead). The day before the election my boyfriend personally went to EVERY household in the village to try and secure votes. He is extremely liked in the village (and in fact held this same office before). Unlike the other candidates he didn't have a team of vote buyers running about so he felt he needed to make personal contact with all the voters.

The nasty thing is that he was threatened (apparently by the families of one or more of the other candidates) that the police would be involved if they perceived me "the farang" involved in the campaign (ie. they were scared of my deeper pockets). Given this threat it would have been impossible for him to buy any votes even if he wanted too. Talk about an unfair campaign!

Still I did fund the campaign... I paid for the big full-color posters and the "speaker trucks" circulating the village... but that's all we would have ever been able to get away with.

[ozzydom]

Same ,same here in our villages, the bloke running for the top job as Changwat rep paid the wife and SiL 500 baht each last night and one of the two running for village rep paid 300 baht this morning, T/W reckons its hilarious because she voted for the bloke who did not pay her anything.

[khunandy]

I recently watched an election process for our village and town, what a farce..200 baht from one candidate and then the anti was upped to 300 baht by another which caused outrage from the first candidate...spies hiding in bushes trying to take photographic evidence of vote buying to render the other candidate ineligible to stand for election..the whole thing was a joke and my wife and i decided to clear out for a few days.

The expected candidate got in (500 baht a vote in the end) and in the fickle Thai way her popularity plummeted overnight (Thais don't like winners it seems).

There was no voting promises about fixing roads or improving services, just a pure and simple corrupt election at grass roots level

[Dave the Dude]

There was no voting promises about fixing roads or improving services, just a pure and simple corrupt election at grass roots level

From little acorns grow..........

BIG THAKSINS and the like

DAVE

[scyriacus]

so what? if nobody would pay for votes, nobody would vote. this is no vote buying, but 'building of political willpower'. example: in 2005 in germany the political parties received 126 million euros taxpayers money mainly for giveaways like ballpoints, balloons and pennants. that would be about 6 billion baht or about 100 baht per head/year in thailand. and germany is deemed to be a stable democracy. what thailand needs is some education for mature and responsible citizens. these are hard to find in rural areas, most of them are in bangkok with pad.......

[fruity]

so what? if nobody would pay for votes, nobody would vote. this is no vote buying, but 'building of political willpower'. example: in 2005 in germany the political parties received 126 million euros taxpayers money mainly for giveaways like ballpoints, balloons and pennants. that would be about 6 billion baht or about 100 baht per head/year in thailand. and germany is deemed to be a stable democracy. what thailand needs is some education for mature and responsible citizens. these are hard to find in rural areas, most of them are in bangkok with pad.......

Utter bull! Democracy is not about paying the voters. It is blatent corruption.

These village jobs are a joke, these people are not needed. The reason they spend so much money to try to secure the job is so they can get their share of the goverment money allocated to village improvements. OK 8K baht each month is a nice little salary for your average villager, but that is NOT what they are after, there are much bigger fish to catch.

My wife ended up with 900 baht, 300 from each canditate in our moobaan, she deliberately voided her paper by voting for all three.....lol...(two being the max), at least they all got their moneys worth....lolz

[plachon]

so what? if nobody would pay for votes, nobody would vote. this is no vote buying, but 'building of political willpower'. example: in 2005 in germany the political parties received 126 million euros taxpayers money mainly for giveaways like ballpoints, balloons and pennants. that would be about 6 billion baht or about 100 baht per head/year in thailand. and germany is deemed to be a stable democracy. what thailand needs is some education for mature and responsible citizens. these are hard to find in rural areas, most of them are in bangkok with pad.......

Utter bull! Democracy is not about paying the voters. It is blatent corruption.

These village jobs are a joke, these people are not needed. The reason they spend so much money to try to secure the job is so they can get their share of the goverment money allocated to village improvements. OK 8K baht each month is a nice little salary for your average villager, but that is NOT what they are after, there are much bigger fish to catch.

My wife ended up with 900 baht, 300 from each canditate in our moobaan, she deliberately voided her paper by voting for all three.....lol...(two being the max), at least they all got their moneys worth....lolz

It is blatant corruption. You are correct - and your wife willingly participates in it. It's irrelevant whether she votes for the person/s who give her money, but by the very act of accepting money from a candidate she has broken the law and in a mature democracy would be punished.

The fact that so many people admit that their wives/rellies participate in the vote buying frenzy in Isaan at mere TAO election level, kind of confirms the suspicion amongst PAD supporters that Isaan is a basket case where true democracy is decades off, if not generations, and Thailand needs good governance now, not 30 years time. It would seem kind of obvious, but as long as your family members go on accepting the largesse of people standing for public office by accepting bribes to vote for them, Thailand is going to continue to get leaders who will rape the country and their fellow citizens ad infinitum.

Ah yes, I know, Khun Wifey would never listen to her pua farang in any case so you're wasting your time on a lost cause. Bor ben nyang dawg. Hopeless situation.......................................

[Dave the Dude]

It is blatant corruption. You are correct - and your wife willingly participates in it. It's irrelevant whether she votes for the person/s who give her money, but by the very act of accepting money from a candidate she has broken the law and in a mature democracy would be punished.

The fact that so many people admit that their wives/rellies participate in the vote buying frenzy in Isaan at mere TAO election level, kind of confirms the suspicion amongst PAD supporters that Isaan is a basket case where true democracy is decades off, if not generations, and Thailand needs good governance now, not 30 years time. It would seem kind of obvious, but as long as your family members go on accepting the largesse of people standing for public office by accepting bribes to vote for them, Thailand is going to continue to get leaders who will rape the country and their fellow citizens ad infinitum.

Ah yes, I know, Khun Wifey would never listen to her pua farang in any case so you're wasting your time on a lost cause. Bor ben nyang dawg. Hopeless situation.......................................

Good post, I agree with you, but this needs to start from the top including the corrupt,lazy,non efficient Police 'Club'.

Dave

[Cuban]

200 Baht was the voting fee here.

It would be very interesting to take a closer interest in local politics (healthy?) and see what sums of money are allocated for development projects.

Water and roads would be a personal choice.

Is there a way to find out what village budgets are allocated?

[poshthai]

So much corruption from the bottom to the top.Same as pad paying people 300-800 baht a day to go to bk and cause trouble,i know this because some of my neighbours have gone down to bk so they can earn money,and members of sophon cable too.

[soundman]

It is estimated that the "nayok" position of most OBT's costs around 1.5 - 3 million Baht to secure a win and most thesabahns run at about 5 million Baht.

Gumnuns & Poo yai bahns - why bother?

[GarryP]

The wife's uncle in Ubon has been Pooyai Bahn for two terms. Never bought votes. He ran because the villagers asked him to. Nobody wanted the job. For his second term he was asked to continue but refuses to run for a third term. The locals got together to decide who would be suitable to replace him at the end of his term and then made sure that their choice worked together with the Pooyai Bahn so that he could fully understand what the job entailed.

It is a paid job but nobody wants to have the hassle of being mediator in the many petty disputes that arise in the village.

Don't know if it's related but it appears to be one of the few villages that voted predominantly Democrat in the last election.

[fruity]

The fact that so many people admit that their wives/rellies participate in the vote buying frenzy in Isaan at mere TAO election level, kind of confirms the suspicion amongst PAD supporters that Isaan is a basket case where true democracy is decades off, if not generations, and Thailand needs good governance now, not 30 years time. It would seem kind of obvious, but as long as your family members go on accepting the largesse of people standing for public office by accepting bribes to vote for them, Thailand is going to continue to get leaders who will rape the country and their fellow citizens ad infinitum.

Ah yes, I know, Khun Wifey would never listen to her pua farang in any case so you're wasting your time on a lost cause. Bor ben nyang dawg. Hopeless situation.......................................

Personally, I would never try to dissuade my wife from accepting the 'bribes', why should she take a stand & miss the little windfall? One fish less in the sea makes no difference whatsoever.

As for the so called PAD, these are bigger hypocrites than Samak & Co; as has already been pointed out; the mobs consist mostly oF PAID PROTESTORS, people with zero interest in whats going on & no political knowledge / leanings whatsoever; they are only there for the 500 baht per day period.

Lets hope the goverment take a very strong stance with these lunatics & get this nipped in the bud quickly.

[Pseacraft]

My wife's uncle ran for something and I guess he expected her to vote for him, Not a chance in heck for that as we know he's an opportunist. When the cash is being handed out I asked her why she just didn't torch it and she said why do that when I can take the kids out for a treat? She votes for who she wants and could careless about the rest. I should get her to run for office, then maybe the road in front of our house will get finished.....

A line from a game the lads at work play - Ak47's for everyone! - could be her slogan....hummm...maybe modify it slightly....

[JetsetBkk]

Same ,same here in our villages, the bloke running for the top job as Changwat rep paid the wife and SiL 500 baht each last night and one of the two running for village rep paid 300 baht this morning, T/W reckons its hilarious because she voted for the bloke who did not pay her anything.

Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I've just read it - I don't normally come into this forum.

Just wanted to say that my g/f did the same as above - took money from (in her case) the young guy from the "newly rich drug-running family" and voted for the old guy that most of the village respects.

[prakhonchai nick]

My wife accepts all money on offer, whether it be local elections or general elections. And 2 weeks ago, 4 candidates all gave cash!

She votes for the person/party who will provide help for the village/area,(regardless of whether they paid or not) or whose party actually has a manifesto, and donates ALL the money to the AIDS Hospice in Lopburi.

[Chaimai]

My wife accepts all money on offer, whether it be local elections or general elections. And 2 weeks ago, 4 candidates all gave cash!

She votes for the person/party who will provide help for the village/area,(regardless of whether they paid or not) or whose party actually has a manifesto, and donates ALL the money to the AIDS Hospice in Lopburi.

Now, THAT is democracy at work

[Thaddeus]

It certainly is.... more power to her.

This is one of the points that really sticks in my throat.

Every single candidate in every single election that I have witnessed (and there have been a few) has offered a bribe to vote for them, the money has been taken, and then the people have voted for the one that they thought could help them most.

Every party is equally as guilty as the next one when it comes to vote buying........ democracy ...... never happen.

[soundman]

It certainly is.... more power to her.

This is one of the points that really sticks in my throat.

Every single candidate in every single election that I have witnessed (and there have been a few) has offered a bribe to vote for them, the money has been taken, and then the people have voted for the one that they thought could help them most.

Every party is equally as guilty as the next one when it comes to vote buying........ democracy ...... never happen.

And there is a large portion of the TV community that insists vote buying doesn't occur in Thailand.

[bergen]

It certainly is.... more power to her.

This is one of the points that really sticks in my throat.

Every single candidate in every single election that I have witnessed (and there have been a few) has offered a bribe to vote for them, the money has been taken, and then the people have voted for the one that they thought could help them most.

Every party is equally as guilty as the next one when it comes to vote buying........ democracy ...... never happen.

And there is a large portion of the TV community that insists vote buying doesn't occur in Thailand.

This large portion of the TV community have probably never been far away from their city condo.

It is tragic that the protesting PADs who are whining about PPP being corrupt, have not been much different.

Edited October 10, 2008 by bergen

[Carib]

Well, look at it this way, at least in Thailand the voter gets something out of an election, in our modern western election circus the voter " thinks" he will get something, like tax reductions, peace, lower fuel prices , well you know the usual promises which are soon forgotten if "the chair" has been won.

And make no mistake, look at all the millions which are spent on elections, and you really believe that it is for free and just a donation??

I don`t.