Field day for vote-buyers this weekend

TAO polls coincide with new elections

Mongkol Bangprapa

The Election Commission has prepared measures to prevent cheats from mobilising votes during advance voting in six provinces where a third round of elections is to be held.

The sessions scheduled for today and tomorrow in seven constituencies coincide with elections for tambon administration organisations.

Gothom Arya, the election commissioner, foresaw rampant vote-buying this weekend as cheats would probably round up votes for the two elections at the same time.

A vigil would be tightened in Khon Kaen, Buri Ram and Surin believed to be more prone to vote-rigging and malpractice.

Mr Gothom said pollwatchers received reports canvassers planned to mobilise votes by taking voters to polling stations. Checkpoints would be set up on roads leading to polling stations to check on vehicles travelling with large numbers of people. Vehicles leaving and returning to polling units often would be subject to inspection.

Mr Gothom urged people to lend co-operation, saying the move was to pre-empt vote fraud.

He expressed concern about possible "double cheating" as TAO elections were being held this weekend as well.

The EC has sent border patrol police and pollwatchers to the constituencies.

The third round of elections was prompted by discovery of fraud in previous contests in which winners were either disqualified or "yellow-carded" and allowed to return to the race.

Mr Gothom said incumbent commissioners would announce results if the process could be wrapped up before their tenure expired on July 9.

If not, the task would be left to the new batch of commissioners.

Meanwhile, the commission is fighting for power to supervise grassroots-level elections.

Mr Gothom told a seminar on the local elections bill yesterday that elections for executives of local administration organisations and local councils should be arranged by a special committee overseen by the poll agency.

The committee would comprise staff of various state agencies, Mr Gothom said.

The bill assigns secretaries of provincial and tambon administration organisations and municipalities as poll supervisors.

The officials were empowered to set election dates, set up polling stations and appoint election workers and ballot-counting officials.

The bill limits the role of the poll agency to investigating election malpractice.

Mr Gothom said that in his opinion, the secretaries should be part of the special poll panel.

He said the poll commission had no problem dealing with grassroots-level elections because it had proved in elections of senators and MPs that it could mobilise support from other agencies, particularly teachers.

Under the bill, the poll agency is given the power to deny endorsement of winners who cheat. Mr Gothom said he wanted that power handed to provincial election directors now reporting to the commission.

Mr Gothom said changes to the bill were still possible now that it was being screened by a senate panel.