Tankhun gets second shot at Don Muang, Sudarat says no

Tankhun gets second shot at Don Muang, Sudarat says no

The Democrat Party on Monday resolved to field Tankhun Jitt-itsara as its candidate in the June 16 by-election in Bangkok's Constituency 12 (Don Muang), party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said.

Mr Abhisit announced Mr Tankhun's candidacy after a meeting of the party's executive committee.

The Pheu Thai Party is expected to decide on its candidate on Tuesday. The by-election was called after the party's local MP Karun Hosakul was disqualified and banned.

The Supreme Court's Election Cases Division found Mr Karun guilty of breaking the election law by defaming his main opponent, Mr Tankhun, during campaigning for the 2011 general election, which he won.

Tankhun Jitt-itsara will run for parliament as the  Democrat candidate in the by-election in Don Muang on June 16. (Photo courtesy of the Demcorat Party)

Mr Tankhun lost to Mr Karun in the 2011 poll when the Pheu Thai candidate won 38,351 votes, almost 8,000 more than his tally.

Most Don Muang voters also supported Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongchareon of Pheu Thai over MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra of the Democrats in the gubernatorial election in March, although MR Sukhumbhand still won re-election as Bangkok governor.

After the party meeting, Democrat deputy leader Korn Chatikavanij admitted it would be difficult to win the by-election, despite the absence of Mr Karun.

But the opposition party still had a chance to win, he said. It was buoyed by the by-election for a city councillor in constituency 1 of Don Muang district in September last year, when the Democrat candidate won the vote, he added.

Mr Tankhun said he would undertake a "constructive" campaign leading up to election day, and use social media to get backing from voters.

The by-election is expected to heat up following the exchange of words between Mr Tankhun and Mr Karun on Saturday at a school where the ousted MP was giving a speech to his supporters.

Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan (Photo by Thanarak Khoonton)

Pheu Thai stalwart Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan announced at her home on Monday she would not stand as the Pheu Thai candidate in the by-election despite having being appproached by senior members of the party.

She said she did not expect any violence in the by-election in the aftermath of the developing feud between Mr Karun, who is a member of her faction, and Mr Tankhun.

"In my 21 years in politics I've never seen any election violence in Bangkok," said the former key figure of the disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party.

Khunying Sudarat also said she would not accept a cabinet post if Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra decides to reshuffle her ministers.

She was concentrating her efforts on a renovation project at the birthplace of Lord Buddha in modern day Nepal. 

In Khunying Sudarat's absence, attention has shifted to Sita Divari, her close aide and one of the few names being tipped as the possible party candidate.

However, Sqn Ldr Sita, who is chairman of the Airports of Thailand Plc board, is reported to be unenthusiastic about the prospect of stepping down from his current position.

Meanwhile, a Pheu Thai source said a group of Pheu Thai MPs representing Bangkok had proposed party list MP Yuranan "Sam" Pamornmontri as the candidate for the by-election.

Khunying Sudarat and Mr Karun's wife, Pimchana Hosakul, had already ruled themselves out, while Sqn Ldr Sita's decision remained unclear, the source said.

According to the source, the Pheu Thai MPs believed the party needed a candidate who is already distinguished and popular, due to the limited campaigning time available, and former actor and pop singer Yuranan fitted the bill.

In the Bangkok governor election in 2009, Mr Yuranan received about 600,000 votes, which was considered a very good result even though he lost.

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