Thaksin Upbeat After Drawing Lucky Ballot Number

[george]

Thai PM upbeat after drawing lucky number for ballot spot

BANGKOK: -- Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has drawn a lucky number in a lottery to determine how the parties will be listed on nationwide ballots in next month's election.

Thaksin picked a nine, which Thais consider a lucky and auspicious number, putting his Thai Rak Thai party in the ninth spot on the ballot for the February 6 general election.

"We got number nine, a number that shows Thai Rak Thai's determination to lead the people to more progress," he told a cheering crowd outside the stadium where the drawing took place.

Thaksin decline to estimate how many seats his party would win, saying: "I will not set the target as voters will make the decision."

Thai Rak Thai officials earlier predicted they would win more than 350 seats in the 500-seat House of Representatives, which would allow it to form a single-party government.

Thaksin as well as 12 other party leaders drew their numbers in a live national telecast as parties began officially filing their lists of candidates with the independent Election Commission.

Thaksin this week became the first elected civilian leader to complete a full four-year term since democracy first came to Thailand 72 years ago.

Meanwhile Banyat Bantadthan, the leader of the opposition Democrats, who drew number four, categorically rejected the possibilty of forming a coalition government with Thai Rak Thai after the election.

"Thai Rak Thai has a totally different policy and to do that would be tantamount to cheating the people," Banyat told reporters.

-- AFP 2005-01-07

[stumonster]

thought his lucky number was 5 billion?

lucky for some - unlucky for the majority.

[george]

GENERAL ELECTION: All a matter of (lucky) numbers

Some politicos over moon, others less happy as the fickle digits are handed out

BANGKOK: -- Numbers always matter in a Thai general election, and next month’s is no exception.

The leaders of the Thai Rak Thai, Democrat, Chat Thai and Mahachon parties were overjoyed with the numbers assigned to their parties for use in nationwide campaigning, after a drawing yesterday at the Thai-Japan Youth Welfare Centre ended with what each leader interpreted as a good omen for his campaign.

Chat Thai received No 1, No 4 went to the Democrats, Thai Rak Thai was awarded No 9 and Mahachon took away No 11.

“I nearly had a heart attack,” Chat Thai leader Banharn Silapa-archa told reporters after his party clinched No 1, believed by Thais to signify a winner.

Banharn was last in the list among the 13 party leaders who took part in the drawing. But in the end, he and his party’s supporters jumped up and cheered when the leader of 12th-on-the-list Social Action picked No 2, leaving No 1 for Chat Thai.

Democrat leader Banyat Bantadtan feels sure that No 4 will make the voters think of his party as the first choice, because it will remind them of the four missions his party hopes to achieve if it gets to run the government.

They are to provide tuition-free education up to Mathayom 12; to help the citizens increase their incomes while reducing debt; to provide training and skills for job seekers; and to give a fair pension to everyone age 60 and older.

Riding a rising wave of popularity derived from public approval of the government’s handling of the tsunami disaster, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said that No 9 means good luck for his Thai Rak Thai party, because it stands for “progress”.

“It’s relevant to my party’s policies, which will lead our country forward,” he said. “If we run the government for another four years, the people will have greater opportunities for progress in their lives.”

Mahachon leader Anek Laothamatas believes that No 11 will make his party achieve its target of 101 out of 500 seats up for grabs.

“Two 1s is better than a single digit,” he said. “We might even win the total constituency seats and the party-list seats.”

Constituent candidates for all parties will use the same numbers in their campaigns as those drawn yesterday for the party list.

The 13 party leaders arrived at the venue, party lists in hand, before the scheduled opening time of 8.30 am, hoping for a chance to grab the coveted No- slot.

For a full hour prioesr to the drawing, more than 2,000 supporters turned a boring application process into a colourful sports-like atmosphere. They cheered, screamed and waved party flags and images of their candidates inside the hall.

--The Nation 2005-01-08