By-elections On 20 February

[george]

By-elections on 20 February

BANGKOK: -- The Election Commission of Thailand (EC) has scheduled by-elections for 20 February.

By elections will be held on Sunday in constituencies where there have been electoral frauds.

However, the EC has not yet been in a position to say how many electorates will need to go to the polls again. as it is still conducting investigations into alleged electoral frauds.

Many candidates have complained of suspicious practices by rival candidates and local election officials during the election campaign.

Several candidates had been called in for questioning in connection with

allegations of malpractice, an EC member, Prinya Nakchudtree, told TNA.

The EC has so far approved 310 elected candidates from the total 500 seats

in the House of Representatives.

However, the new government cannot be formed until the EC has completed the process.

During the election campaign, fierce competition between political rivals resulted in angry exchanges, accusations and even lawsuits.

One of the most controversial cases involves a senior Democrat MP, Thavorn Senniam, and Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Newin Chidchob.

Mr. Thavorn has accused Mr. Newin of abusing his power when he called a meeting of southern provincial officials and forced them to support ruling Thai Rak Thai candidates.

Mr. Newin has dismissed the accusation as groundless and is suing Mr. Thavorn in court for falsifying evidence.

--TNA 2005-02-17