Samui Election...

[Boater]

Being on Samui for other 4 years now, i have seen many things, but this current election is a complete Joke......

Yes i am aware as are most people, that people vote the person into power not for there political knowledge but how much they can get paid for there vote....

So this time around we got a visit from a group of people in a pick up blarring out on the load speaker that they where offering 2,000 THB for there parties Vote

Like i said, i know this happens, to make it so obvious is a joke!!....

The whole election should be called off and done correctly!!!

Just my little rant.....

[jeztennis]

i quite agree boater, what makes me laugh is the money that is paid as a bribe is then followed up by a no drinking in bars rule so that the voters will a) wake up in the morning and remember who to vote for. do they not realise that if you give the average Thai 2000 baht he will think all his new years have come at once, he will go out and probably buy regency as that is a far superior drink and get completely comatose at home, thus forgetting to a) get up and who to vote for.

i think the fairest system is to let them drink as much as they want, if they are actually interested in politics and have any idea what the different candidates policies are then they will make the effort to vote and thus a fair vote by getting rid of all the deadwood and people who dont know why they are voting for someone.

this will also allow all the bars to remain open so that all the holidaymakers off to the full moon party today wont have been seriously peeved at not being able to have a party last night, thus making them think samui is crap and not returning here or recommending it to anyone.

[Samuian]

no fun, no beer, no bars, no girlz, no full moon party, no business and not 2000 Baht, no free Regency?

I am really sorry for u guys but TiT welcome to the show ladies & gentlemen!

[highdiver]

but if all the parties are offering 2000 baht then it evens up does it not???

and before all the Goody Goody defenders of moral step in I will state that I strongly condemn this and i wish it did not happen.... but corruption and politics have always gone hand in hand.. now we just get more reports on it.

[mattias33]

but if all the parties are offering 2000 baht then it evens up does it not???

and before all the Goody Goody defenders of moral step in I will state that I strongly condemn this and i wish it did not happen.... but corruption and politics have always gone hand in hand.. now we just get more reports on it.

That´s a good point highdiver. If thats the case its actually not corruption at all, it´s just a good way to get the people that dont care about politics to participate in the election. If they ALL pay THE SAME it´s a good idea. They should actually start paying for participating in the election even in my country when i come to think of it, as there are less people voting every time it is an election.

Good idea!

[Tony121]

I heard that today one of the party's was offering 4000thb,

[koheesti]

How do they know the person they paid will actually vote as they were paid to do?

[Boater]

How do they know the person they paid will actually vote as they were paid to do?

They dont!!!...... that why it is bulls$%t

[jeztennis]

a friend of mine has been offerred 2000 baht by 2 different parties and 1000 baht from 2 other parties so they have taken the money from all of them and said khop kun ka

[Chriscolumbus]

Was there really no alcohol served at the Fullmoon party last night?! I highly doubt that, but if true wow.

[animatic]

Yeah all well and bad, but

WHO WON!

A few people seem to say the moustache, beat the old mayer.

But I can't realy get a clear answer.

And not a CLUE about policy differences.

I know the old mayor is a hotelier, so wants things to support tourism.

Beyond that who knows.

And I guess I am NOT finding those answers here...

[Boater]

I am sure the Samui Express will report the winner

But it would also be a nice side line article to see how much each person was paying for votes over votes actually marked for that candidate

[limbos]

According to the Missus, pary # 1 won the election.

In that party are a few hoteliers, so I would assume that they want to support tourism.........

No ready answer indeed for your other questions, although i look forward to some information on those topics.

[Tony121]

No 1 apparently won by a landslide i think most samuians realised the previous mayor wasn't doing a very good job and like most expats they are fed up of flooding and bad roads etc.

The New Mayor doesn't own a hotel he is in construction but his brother owns a very big resort in Lamai. and others very close to the party own resorts in chaweng and one of the big nightclubs.

I think the new mayor will be good for samui but only time will tell.

[churchill]

No 1 apparently won by a landslide i think most samuians realised the previous mayor wasn't doing a very good job and like most expats they are fed up of flooding and bad roads etc.

The New Mayor doesn't own a hotel he is in construction but his brother owns a very big resort in Lamai. and others very close to the party own resorts in chaweng and one of the big nightclubs.

I think the new mayor will be good for samui but only time will tell.

Yes I agree - They have a lot on their shoulders and are serious about doing their best for Samui - I wish them luck .

[Boater]

I think it would be a case if they are serious about helping the people and tourism of samui and not there own pocket ....

[limbos]

That would be a real change Boater, one for the better!

[sbk]

Was there really no alcohol served at the Fullmoon party last night?! I highly doubt that, but if true wow.

Koh Samui Tessaban elections would have no effect on Koh Phangan. Koh Phangan did not have any local elections so alcohol was served at the FMP last night.

[NHJ]

if the people are paying people a so high amount for their votes, they'll have to get back the money in another way.

so don't expect miracles, those elections are a way to earn a lot of money for the winner, nothing more...

[susquosh]

I was impressed by the No.5's.They only got 29 votes so either short of funds or they ran a legitimate campaign.

[maimeearai]

I was told , by a well respected source , that approx. 50 million baht was spent on winning the Election.

A healthy 'profit' will be expected by the victor.

So do not expect any changes for the better here on Samui.

If it is true that No5 ran a clean campaign and received only 29 votes., this illustrates the level of corruption involved.

Chok Dee

[Boater]

A healthy 'profit' will be expected by the victor.

again, thinking of there own pocket !!!

Edited September 16, 2008 by Boater

[highdiver]

A healthy 'profit' will be expected by the victor.

again, thinking of there own pocket !!!

Boater . i usually am in total agreement to what you say however this time I beg to differ.

i don't know how much money was spent to "win" the elections but if it is as they said 50 million baht then it is peanuts...

do you know how much money is spent in the western countries on elections? do you know what are the costs of getting elected as mayor in London, new york Paris etc...

I am not in any way comparing samui to those cities but to run an election costs money and in our days a lot of it... not to mention the "promises" to "interest groups" lobbyists,

influential voters, party members, donators.. which are all nice names for anything but clean politics.

I am sure there have been cases of fraud and vote buying as there are anywhere in the world in any elections, and that vote buying is not limited only to samui or thailand.. even if we don't like it, we need to accept that this does happen. do you really think that politicians all over the world who are given "donations" to the campaign are getting it just because of the political stand they take??? do you really believe that once elected they are not in debt to those who got them elected and financed them??

and as with any elections in any country the victor will try and look out for the interested parties who made it possible for him to be in this position... and yes he will also try and probably will look out for his own personal interests as well.

so why is Samui and different. why is thread full of patronizing remarks??

why is there a general feeling on this thread (as with many others) that Thais and Samuians are expected to have a higher moral values then others.

why is it that so many posts ridicule the Thais as corrupt and that everything is about money....

is it not the same all over the world?? why should the Thai be different?? why are they expected to be, politically moral, and free of interests.

it seems that many of our members have some disillusion that Samui as a paradise island should also be a corruption free utopia.

the winner of the elections are a group of very well known and large families in Samui. and I am sure that many people voted for them not because of bribes but because they family ties and expect them to relay make a difference.. I hope that they will use this mandate wisely and do make a difference.

I hope that they will be less corrupt then others.... but i will not be surprised if they are.. after all they are no different from any other administration.

[churchill]

A healthy 'profit' will be expected by the victor.

again, thinking of there own pocket !!!

Boater . i usually am in total agreement to what you say however this time I beg to differ.

i don't know how much money was spent to "win" the elections but if it is as they said 50 million baht then it is peanuts...

do you know how much money is spent in the western countries on elections? do you know what are the costs of getting elected as mayor in London, new york Paris etc...

I am not in any way comparing samui to those cities but to run an election costs money and in our days a lot of it... not to mention the "promises" to "interest groups" lobbyists,

influential voters, party members, donators.. which are all nice names for anything but clean politics.

I am sure there have been cases of fraud and vote buying as there are anywhere in the world in any elections, and that vote buying is not limited only to samui or thailand.. even if we don't like it, we need to accept that this does happen. do you really think that politicians all over the world who are given "donations" to the campaign are getting it just because of the political stand they take??? do you really believe that once elected they are not in debt to those who got them elected and financed them??

and as with any elections in any country the victor will try and look out for the interested parties who made it possible for him to be in this position... and yes he will also try and probably will look out for his own personal interests as well.

so why is Samui and different. why is thread full of patronizing remarks??

why is there a general feeling on this thread (as with many others) that Thais and Samuians are expected to have a higher moral values then others.

why is it that so many posts ridicule the Thais as corrupt and that everything is about money....

is it not the same all over the world?? why should the Thai be different?? why are they expected to be, politically moral, and free of interests.

it seems that many of our members have some disillusion that Samui as a paradise island should also be a corruption free utopia.

the winner of the elections are a group of very well known and large families in Samui. and I am sure that many people voted for them not because of bribes but because they family ties and expect them to relay make a difference.. I hope that they will use this mandate wisely and do make a difference.

I hope that they will be less corrupt then others.... but i will not be surprised if they are.. after all they are no different from any other administration.

Yes I agree - They do really want the best for Samui and i am sure will do their best - but TIT and we cannot expect things to happen the same way here as in other parts of the world and why should they ? if everywhere was the same it would be a very boring planet !

[PoorSucker]

I agree, all local elections on Samui is about "the families"

[BigC]

Being on Samui for other 4 years now, i have seen many things, but this current election is a complete Joke......

Yes i am aware as are most people, that people vote the person into power not for there political knowledge but how much they can get paid for there vote....

So this time around we got a visit from a group of people in a pick up blarring out on the load speaker that they where offering 2,000 THB for there parties Vote

Like i said, i know this happens, to make it so obvious is a joke!!....

The whole election should be called off and done correctly!!!

Just my little rant.....

don't worry if the other parties could only afford 1000 baht a vote them som non nar to them. anyway i am please who got what so i ain't complaining.

has anyone seen bangkok dangours the filme

[2169]

so what we can expect from now on? better roads, roadslight everywehr, no more late partys(after 2am in the morning) and so on.......... sounds like a dream

[BigC]

No 1 apparently won by a landslide i think most samuians realised the previous mayor wasn't doing a very good job and like most expats they are fed up of flooding and bad roads etc.

The New Mayor doesn't own a hotel he is in construction but his brother owns a very big resort in Lamai. and others very close to the party own resorts in chaweng and one of the big nightclubs.

I think the new mayor will be good for samui but only time will tell.

what is the major's name ?

[Boater]

what is the major's name ?

probably Somchai