BANGKOK, Nov 7: Thailand’s political parties rushed to register candidates on Wednesday as campaigning kicked off for a Dec 23 election that the junta insists will restore democracy after a coup last year.
There was a festive atmosphere in Bangkok where the leaders of the key parties descended on a stadium to hand in their candidate lists as the Election Commission (EC) officially launched the campaign.
“This election is crucial for our country. It will lead our country to full democratic rule,” EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond told party leaders.
Apichart reassured politicians that the EC would remain neutral throughout campaigning for the election, which will come 15 months after prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted by the army.
“I want to reassure everyone that under my chairmanship, the EC is politically neutral and there is no power that can interfere with this Election Commission,” he said.
Parties have until Sunday to register candidates who will contest 80 party list seats in parliament, which are voted for according to regional zones.
Registration opens on Monday for candidates for 400 constituency seats.
The junta and the civilian government it appointed have vowed that the poll will bring a full return to democracy in Thailand.
But analysts question how free and fair the elections can be when about one-third of the country is still under martial law and Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party, which stormed the polls in 2001 and 2005, has been dissolved.
Pro-democracy activists have also expressed concern about a new constitution that was approved in a referendum in August. Critics warn that the charter rolls back democratic reforms included in the previous constitution.
Any elections held under the new charter, they say, will likely install a weak coalition government while returning real authority to the traditional power centres of the military, the bureaucracy and the royal palace.
As of Wednesday, 18 out of 63 registered parties had filed 820 candidates to contest the party list, the EC said.
The two front runners are Thailand’s oldest political outfit, the Democrat Party, which TRT pushed from office in 2001, and the People Power Party (PPP), formed by the remnants of TRT and backed by Thaksin.
Mud-slinging between the parties began well before campaigning kicked off, with PPP leader Samak Sundaravej in October accusing the junta of planning a smear campaign to sabotage its chances in the polls.
Samak was brimming with confidence Wednesday, saying he was ready to lead Thailand as its new prime minister.
“I’m sure that our party will win the election with a simple majority,” he told reporters.
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was keen to espouse his welfare policies in a bid to reach out to Thaksin’s core supporters in the poor northeast.
“People have high hopes that this election will get Thailand out of crisis, and I am confident that people are interested in a party that will tackle their basic needs,” he was quoted as saying by the national news agency.
Crowds gathered early at Bangkok’s Thai-Japanese sports stadium to support their party, small or large.
“We hope that the election is fair and transparent, so that political troubles will end,” said Phanom Thongchua, a 50-year-old farmer, who had arrived at the stadium at midnight to support a minor farmers’ party.
Supporters held up placards of their choice of party leader, while balloons, flags and roses representing the various parties festooned the stadium.
Thaksin has been living in exile in London since the coup, and faces arrest on corruption charges if he returns to Thailand.
—AFP