I Wonder If Mr Thaksin Bribed Any Voters ?

[pautai]

Vote buying rampant in Thai elections: survey

Supporters of the Thai Rak Thai party erect a giant poster of the party leader and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at an overfly in Nong Chik district of Pattani province, southern Thailand, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005. About 44.8 million Thai eligible voters will go to the poll on Sunday in the country's general election. The letters or the party's logo at right read: "Thai Rak Thai or Thai Love Thai." AP

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Parties contesting Thailand's elections this weekend are spending around a third of their campaign budgets on bribing people to support them, with some payoffs reaching 2,000 baht (US$50, euro40) a vote, a survey shows.

The survey, released Thursday, estimated that 23.2 billion bath (US$646 million, euro580 million) was being spent nationwide on the political campaign, and more than 34 percent of the total, or more than 9.7 billion baht (US$242.5 million, euro194 million) being spent on buying votes.

The survey organisation, the ABAC Poll of Bangkok's Assumption University, said its estimates were based on responses from almost 14,000 community leaders nationwide covering constituencies from where members of Parliament would be elected.

The survey found that the average cost of a vote was 500 baht (US$12.50, euro10) but hotly-contested constituencies could be as high as 2,000 baht (US$50, euro40).

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the leader of the Thai Rak Thai Party (Thai Love Thai Party) which is expected to win an absolute majority in Sunday's polls, has scoffed at reports of vote buying.

He said it would be stupid to spend so much money to attract votes because his party is so popular that vote-buying was unnecessary.

Twenty political parties have more than 2,280 candidates running in Sunday's election for the House of Representatives, but only four or five parties are expected to win seats in the 500 member chamber.

[lampard10]

I wonder if Bears sh1t in the woods?

[p_brownstone]

Sure he did.

30 Baht Medical Scheme, Baht 1 million Village Fund, SML Fund - the list goes on.

He just introduced and perfected the idea of buying peoples votes with their own money, not his.

Patrick

[chingy_]

one way or another

[pautai]

and so the endless cycle of coruption and extortion goes on and on .they have to get back the money spent later in corrupt deals and extortion instead of the money being spent improving the lot of the people .

so the rich get richer and the poor increase in numbers .

[Harmonica]

The monk bought lunch -- yeah, he bought a little!!!

[pautai]

now if that 9.7 billion bahts had been spent on building a good phone/internet sysyem

you would have a reliable internet connection

[Thaiboxer]

I think Thai Rak Thai was giving away free jackets or something...probably with 2,000 baht stuffed in one of the pockets. As one poster said, Thaksin makes sure that the people's money helps to fuel his corrupt politics thereby widening the gap between the rich and the poor. The only reason his party is so popular (and supposedly doesn't need to sell votes) is because so many people just don't know any better. Hopefully, enough people will get tired of financing his dictatorship and put him where he belongs....away from politics.

[Crushdepth]

Some inconsiderate TRT supporters have erected a giant ######ing poster on the telephone pole millimeters in front of my house. It's about to have a nasty magic marker accident.

[penzman]

and so the endless cycle of coruption and extortion goes on and on .they have to get back the money spent later in corrupt deals and extortion instead of the money being spent improving the lot of the people .

so the rich get richer and the poor increase in numbers .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He did say corruption would end on Oct 3rd 2004.

Bad start...

Twas a Sunday

[jingjingna]

You are such a silly boy!

[Thaiboxer]

He did say corruption would end on Oct 3rd 2004.

Bad start...

Twas a Sunday

He said a lot of things would improve...like the violence in the South. He's been in office for four years and the situation not only didn't improve...it's worse! He had tons of druggies blown away with no trial or jury and lied about the bird flu to protect the precious poultry trade (surely he's not involved in the poultry business ) and then threatened to stop doing business with other nations if they didn't buy his diseased chickens. What a good role model!

[george]

Here is the Election 2005 thread with updated news from todays general election:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=26658

[aletta]

No need to.

The locals here love him.

[Harmonica]

No need to.

The locals here love him.

And so do I and so does my TG -- she voted for him and I would too but ....

When/If he wins,

first order of biz -- round up the complaining farangs and put them all in one classroom and teach/show them what their predecessors/ancestors did -- when they conclude that Thaksin is a saint in comparison -- send them home with a caseload of whisky -- some frigging geniuses we have here!!