Politicians must put aside pride, he says

Boonrawd: Accept the result

Politicians must put aside pride, he says

WASSANA NANUAM

Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas yesterday reminded politicians to keep their word by accepting the outcome of the general election. ''For the general public, they vote and accept whatever the result is.

''But the politicians have higher hopes. They should tone down their stubbornness and prejudice for the sake of national reconciliation,'' Gen Boonrawd said.

''This election is definitely not the last. Any action which could lead to violence is not at all democratic.''

The government was preparing a booklet outlining its achievements and would include suggestions for the next government.

He said it would be premature to describe what he expects from the next government.

It should be formed 30 days from now and cabinet should be sworn in around Feb 7, and that would officially end the tenure of the Surayud government.

''Whether the current government will stay on after Feb 7 depends on how many red cards, if any, the Election Commission decides to issue,'' Gen Boonrawd said.

''Today several complaints came in about election fraud. A party dissolution case alone takes roughly a month.''

The Election Commission was duty bound to investigate complaints about vote buying, he said.

The acting chairman of the Council for National Security, Chalit Phukphasuk, said the CNS would disband after the new government was formed.

''The election is all about the public, not the CNS. Whoever gets the mandate [to govern the country] will assume their duties, while the CNS will disband,'' ACM Chalit said.

''We must play by the rules and accept whoever won the majority of votes.''

ACM Chalit said there was nothing wrong with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra returning to fight corruption charges.

Meanwhile, the commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Infantry Regiment, Polsak Sripen, denied he had ordered his men to vote for the Democrat party yesterday.

His comment was in response to an audio clip posted on a website last week in which senior army commanders instructed the rank and file to vote for the Democrats.

Lt-Col Polsak dismissed the video clip as a trick, possibly manipulated by an audio-editing programme.

His battalion is headquartered on Rama V road in Bang Sue district.

The Democrats took most seats in Bangkok, according to unofficial results.

Army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda said he had heard about the sound clip and was waiting for an official report before ordering an investigation.

Assets Scrutiny Committee member Udom Fuangfung shrugged off the threat by the People Power party that it would disband the committee once it took office.

He said the committee was only doing its job by investigating allegations of corruption involving the Thaksin government.

He said Mr Thaksin could return immediately to fight the graft charges.

The former prime minister, however, must report to the court because an arrest warrant was out for him over the Ratchadaphisek land deal, in which Mr Thaksin is accused of wielding his influence as prime minister to allow his wife Khunying Potjaman to purchase the prime block of land from the Financial Institutions Development Fund at a discount.