Panlop to help Puea Thai by-election race in Lop Buri
- By: WASSANA NANUAM
- Published: 27/12/2008 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
Panlop Pinmanee, former deputy director of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), will help supervise Puea Thai party's by-election campaign in military-dominated Lop Buri.
He is doing so at the request of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Gen Panlop said Thaksin had asked him to "come home" and help bring back the glory of the party, a reference to the defunct Thai Rak Thai party.
Thai Rak Thai was dissolved for electoral fraud. Many party members then moved to the People Power party, which was also disbanded for vote-buying.
Puea Thai has been set up to accommodate MPs from the old PPP.
Gen Panlop said that as a founder of Thai Rak Thai, he felt obliged to help Puea Thai, which some members had now abandoned.
Puea Thai will contest a constituency in the Jan 11 by-election in Lop Buri, a province where there are large military bases.
The by-election has been called in 29 constituencies across 22 provinces after the PPP and its coalition partners, the Chart Thai and Matchimathipataya parties were disbanded.
Gen Panlop said Lop Buri is a traditional stronghold of Thai Rak Thai but since the Democrat party now leads the government, his role in the party's poll supervision is to ensure military voters there have a free hand to cast their votes.
He said vote manipulation in favour of the Democrat candidates in Lop Buri may be possible because armed forces leaders had shown an inclination to meddle in political affairs, and could do so again.
The military was accused of having a hand in getting key political parties and faction members to switch sides to give the Democrats enough parliamentary support to establish the new government.
Gen Panlop said the Democrats had resorted to old political tricks by rounding up MPs to take over the seat of government.
The retired general said Puea Thai leader Yongyuth Vichaidit had also approached him for help in getting the party back on track.
He said he has set himself a goal of getting Puea Thai in government in three years.
After that, he promised he would wash his hands of politics.
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