Thaksin’s Udon Thani vote pitch raises eyebrows

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra might have broken a local election law by telling people in Udon Thani to “vote for Thaksin” while campaigning for a provincial Pheu Thai Party candidate there, says a former election commissioner.
Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said that making a false or misleading statement that causes misunderstanding about the popularity of a candidate violates Section 65(5) of the Local Councillors and Local Executives Act.
Violators could face a jail term of 1-10 years and/or a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 baht, and lose their electoral rights for 20 years, Mr Somchai wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday.
Mr Somchai was commenting on Thaksin’s visit to Kumphawapi district of the northeastern province on Wednesday. The ex-premier told a crowd of supporters there that if they could not remember the name of the Pheu Thai Party candidate, all they had to remember was the name Thaksin.
“If (you) forget about number two, vote for Thaksin number two then,” he said.
The former prime minister, whose daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra is the current prime minister and Pheu Thai leader, was in Udon Thani on Wednesday and Thursday to campaign for Sarawut Petphanomporn, candidate No.2 for provincial administrative organisation head in the Nov 24 poll.
During his campaign stops, Thaksin said he would like to help free local people from poverty and narcotics. Udon Thani people should give a landslide win to the Pheu Thai Party, he said; otherwise, he would be “embarrassed”.
Analysts say Pheu Thai is determined to reassert its dominance in Udon Thani, where it traditionally secures a clean sweep of seats in general elections. Last year, it was defeated in three of the 10 constituencies in the province.
The main opposition People’s Party won one seat and the Thai Sang Thai Party won two.
The Nov 24 vote will pit Mr Sarawut against Kanisorn Khurirang of the People’s Party.
The Election Commission (EC) is already reviewing four petitions alleging that Thaksin exerts undue influence over the Pheu Thai Party. If the complaints are upheld and the commission forwards them to the Constitutional Court, dissolution of the party is possible.
EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong said recently that the four complaints had been combined into one because they are of a similar nature. He said evidence-gathering would take some time and he promised a fair investigation.
In a separate case, Therayut Suwankesorn, the lawyer who successfully sought the disbandment of the Move Forward Party has asked the Constitutional Court to stop Thaksin from threatening the constitutional monarchy by influencing Pheu Thai.