MONGKOL BANGPRAPA

The Sunday election for Bangkok governor is the first to be organised by the Election Commission rather than the Interior Ministry. In an effort to ensure a clean election, the commission has been pushing for more public participation.

According to Gen Charupat Ruangsuwan, an election commissioner for campaigns and public participation, the significant difference of the polls under the EC's supervision is public participation. Four selected Bangkokians and the city clerk act as members of the EC's local election committee to organise the polls, while the Election Commission governs election rules.

Furthermore, the EC seeks more strenuously than before to discourage election fraud by the candidates and those working on their behalf. Previously, a Bangkok election cheat had to be prosecuted in court and his term in office could be served before the trial was concluded. At present, the EC has the power to nullify an elected cheat's victory for one year, while proceeding with prosecution in court.

Gen Charupat said what concerned him was the enthusiasm of Bangkokians to turn out and cast their vote this Sunday. To him, a low turnout or emotion-based voting will not represent the real need of the city's population, and could open chances for the new governor to work for vested interests rather than the general public.

"Votes must be based on careful consideration, proper data and understanding, especially about the duties of the Bangkok governor, in order to put the right man in the job. Votes must not be cast only for ones' satisfaction."

Gen Charupat said that he sees the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration as a local administrative organisation duty-bound to provide public services likepublic health, education, environment, infrastructure, traffic and the income of Bangkokians.

"The Bangkok governor must propose policies to the public and to the Bangkok council, transform them into projects and action plans and coordinate implementation with the government. The governor will command subordinates ranging from his deputies to city police, and handle an annual budget of over 30 billion baht which is higher than that of some ministries," Gen Charupat said.

Warin Thiamcharas, secretary to the election watchdog PollWatch, is unimpressed by the first-time role of the EC in the gubernatorial election.

He complained that his organisation and other similar agencies of the civil sector were less prepared for this election because they had to wait for the EC's approval before taking any action. It would have been better if the EC had valued public participation and been more flexible.

Mr Warin said the EC prohibited watchdog groups from examining its own operation, and allowed government officials to outnumber members NGOs in the election-organising committee.

"In the last lap, there is evidence that government officials are significantly partial, and this leads to advantage without having to resort to vote-buying," he said.

The EC's late endorsement of watchdogs caused the public to wonder if PollWatch or any other group is active in this election. As a result, there were fewer campaign complaints filed with PollWatch for the upcoming election.

"In this election, there will be more influence from national politics than ever happened in the past, because of the government announcement it intends to capture seats in 400 constituencies" at the next national election, expected in February, said Mr Warin. "There are 37 constituencies in Bangkok, almost 10% of the total. And the [Bangkok] election is only six months ahead of the parliamentary vote," he said

He expects this Sunday's turnout to reach 65% at the most, as the election date is the eve of the Chinese autumn festival. The EC expects a turnout of 70%.

The national EC is supervising the actual election, while its Bangkok election-organising committee will receive complaints. After the election, the EC will consider disqualifying candidates who may have cheated.

Official complaints on election fraud must be filed within three days after results are announced. Petitions opposing the result can be submitted during an additional 30 days, and the EC will conclude its considerations in a year.