Headaches for the EC | Bangkok Post: learning

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Hundreds of complaints have been filed with the Election Commission ranging from the silly, Yingluck's cooking "violation", to the serious, a demand that the Phue Thai party be dissolved.

Pheu Thai’s prospective candidate for premiership stir-fries noodles on grounds near the statue of Thao Suranaree during her election campaigning in Nakhon Ratchasima on May 31. Yingluck Shinawatra is now accused of giving food to voters in exchange for votes, which could violate the election law. THITI WANNAMONTHA

Click button to listen to Yingluck cooking and rightclick to download

The EC’s toughest job

The most difficult part of the Election Commission’s job may come after an election when the commissioners must decide which candidates are to be disqualified for violating the election law.

Every time there is a general election hundreds of complaints are filed and each one needs to be looked into.

Some complaints seem silly. The EC, for example, is investigating an allegation that Pheu Thai's potential candidate for prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra violated election law when she cooked fried noodles and distributed them to the voters during a May 31 campaign stop in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

It turns out the noodle complaint was filed with the EC by a Nakhon Sawan resident who had only seen a photo of Ms Yingluck cooking the noodles on the front page of a local newspaper, Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said.

The owner of the fried noodle stall, Chongrak Waeokhok, 63, where Ms Yingluck did her cooking, said no one did anything wrong.

“I paid the 320 baht for the ingredients and the cooking equipment that Ms Yingluck used because I am an admirer of her," she said.

A more serious complaint involves the Phue Thai party itself.

Democrat Party's legal team member Wirat Kallayasiri (Photo by Tawatchai Kemgumnerd)

The Democrat Party on Friday filed a complaint with the EC seeking the dissolution of the  Pheu Thai Party because banned politicians had been actively involved in its election campaign.

Democrat legal team member Wirat Kallayasiri claimed some of the 111 executive members of the dissolved Thai  Rak Thai Party who were banned from politics for five years in 2008 –  including ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra and Thai Rak Thai deputy leader Chaturon Chaisang –  have been involved in choosing party list and constituency candidates, and they also determined the policies of Pheu Thai, such as 'Thaksin Thinks, Pheu Thai acts'.

This, Mr Wirat said, was in clear violation of the constitution.

That’s for the EC to decide.
 
Adapted from stories in today’s Bangkok Post.

prospective – expected to do something or to become something ที่คาดหวังไว้, ที่มุ่งหวัง
candidate – a person who is trying to be elected ผู้สมัครรับเลือกตั้ง
stir-fry – to cook thin strips of vegetables or meat quickly by stirring them in very hot oil ผัด   
statue – a human or animal image that is made of stone, wood, metal, etc. รูปปั้น
campaign – a planned series of activities designed to persuade voters to vote for a particular candidate or political party การรณรงค์หาสียง
in exchange for – giving something to someone and receiving something else from them of a similar type or value แลกเปลี่ยน
violate – to do something that is against a law, rule or agreement ฝ่าฝืน, ละเมิด
tough – difficult to do or to deal with ยาก  ยากลำบาก
Election Commission – the independent government agency that oversees elections คณะกรรมการเลือกตั้ง
disqualify – to not allow someone to do something  because they have committed an offence ทำให้หมดสภาพ
file a complaint –to make an official statement that someone has done something wrong ยื่นคำร้อง
silly – stupid or embarrassing, especially in a way that is more typical of a child than an adult เซ่อ, บอ
investigate – to try to find out the facts about something in order to learn the truth about it ตรวจสอบหาความจริง
allegation – an accusation; a statement that someone has done something wrong or illegal even though this has not been proved ข้อกล่าวหา
potential – possible ความเป็นไปได้
distribute – to give something to a group of people แจกจ่าย
turn out – to be discovered to be; to prove to be กลับกลายเป็น
resident – a person who lives in a particular area ผู้พักอาศัย, ผู้อยู่อาศัยในบริเวณ  ประชาชนที่อาศัยในท้องที่
local – in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about  ท้องถิ่น
stall – a large table or a small building that is open at the front, used for selling things (or for giving people information) รถ หรือแผงขายของ
ingredients – foods that are used with other foods in the preparation of a particular dish ส่วนประกอบ
admirer – someone who has a feeling of great respect for someone or something ผู้ชมเชย
dissolution – the process of officially ending the existence of a group of organisation การยุบ (พรรค สภา)
banned – officially not allowed to do something ถูกห้าม
involved – taking part or having a role in something เกี่ยวข้อง
legal – relating to the law or lawyers เกี่ยวกับกฎหมาย
claim – to say that something is true although it has not been proved and other people may not believe it อ้าง
ousted – forced out of a position of power ขับออกจากอำนาจ
deputy – a person who is given the power to do something instead of another person, or the person whose rank is immediately below that of the leader of an organisation รอง, ตัวแทน,ผู้รักษาการแทน
party list – a system that gives each party in an election a number of seats in relation to the number of votes its candidates receive ระบบสัดส่วน, ระบบปาร์ตี้ลิสต์
constituency – a district that elects its own representative to parliament เขตเลือกตั้ง
determine – to decide what will be done or happen กำหนด
policy – a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย
constitution – the set of laws and basic principles that a country in governed by รัฐธรรมนูญ

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