Ex-canvasser vows to help fight vote buying

General news - Thursday December 13, 2007

RACE TO PARLIAMENT

Ex-canvasser vows to help fight vote buying

ANUCHA CHAROENPO

Prachin Buri _ A former tambon headman who confesses to having helped politicians buy votes in the past says he has given up canvassing and will now campaign against the practice.

Boonsri Janchai, a former kamnan of tambon Dongkhilek in Muang district, said some of his aides were killed while helping him canvass in the last two elections, and this had caused the change in his attitude.

Mr Boonsri, who has twice won an award from the Interior Ministry for his outstanding performance as a kamnan, said he is now encouraging other local leaders and officials to join his dedication to ensuring a clean election.

Describing vote buying as a ''vicious cycle'', Mr Boonsri said he now realised that politicians who bought their way to parliament were interested only in seeking benefits for themselves.

Mr Boonsri, who retired from the Interior Ministry on Dec 3, said he began buying votes about 20 years ago when he was a village head in the same tambon.

An election candidate who had helped him develop the village asked him to be his canvasser. His job was to collect the names of eligible voters in the village and hand out cash to them. He agreed to do it because he wanted to show gratitude to the candidate for his help.

''I remember that at that time I was not the only village head who did canvassing. Other local leaders did, too. Vote buying in the form of cash handouts was widespread,'' Mr Boonsri said.

''We could give out cash to voters even in public places because there was no Election Commission to issue red or yellow cards to unscrupulous candidates.

''The police also didn't seriously enforce the election law.''

He said many canvassers were now finding it harder to give cash directly to voters because of the EC's tough rules. Many canvassers had turned to more complicated methods, such as putting money in voters' bank accounts and loan agreements.

And because of the EC's strict rules, some candidates were now paying only 3,000-5,000 baht to canvassers for helping them secure votes.

Candidates were also more careful in contacting kamnans, village heads and other local officials to work for them.

Yupin Piyachai, a village headwoman of Noen Sung in tambon Wang Takhien, Kabin Buri district, said vote buying this time around was less intense, attributing this to the EC and the government's committee against vote buying having issued orders to state officials to be impartial and to help campaign against electoral fraud.

No canvassers or election candidates had showed up at her village so far to seek help in getting support from voters.

In Prachin Buri, with 21 candidates registered in the province, candidates for the People Power and Matchimathipataya parties are said to be neck-and-neck in the race for the three seats.

Local analysts said two former MPs of the dissolved Thai Rak Thai party, Chayuth Phummakanchana and Kongkrich Hongwilai, both of the PPP, and former MP Sunthorn Wilawan, of Matchimathipataya, were most likely to win.

Running closely behind are former Prachin Buri provincial councillor Kiattikorn Pakpiensilpa of Matchimathipataya and Maj-Gen Parinya Chaocharoen of the Pracharaj party.

Bangkok Post