Wadah faction face an uphill battle in South

General news - Friday December 14, 2007

Wadah faction face an uphill battle in South

WASSANA NANUAM

Narathiwat _ Heavyweight candidates from the People Power party (PPP) are likely to be defeated in the Dec 23 poll in the three southernmost provinces, where the Democrat party won almost all the seats at the previous election in 2005. The election in Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani, where a total of 12 seats are to be contested, is expected to be a tough fight between well known candidates.

Political watchers believe that Nujmuddin Uma, a leading member of the Wadah faction of the dissolved Thai Rak Thai party (TRT) who is now running under the PPP banner in constituency 2, may lose out in the race.

In the two-seat constituency 2, Mr Nujmuddin is up against high-profile competitors Surachet Wae-arsae of the Democrats and former Chart Thai MP Kuheng Yaworhasan.

''Never mind if I fail. I will try my best,'' said Mr Nujmuddin while campaigning in Narathiwat's Rangae district.

Areepen Uttasin, the leader of the Wadah faction, claimed attempts had been made by security forces to block the faction from winning seats in the deep South. The faction has also been accused of belonging to a separatist group perpetrating unrest.

''I have been under close watch as they [the authorities] think that as the leader of the Wadah faction, I am also the leader of the separatist movement,'' said Mr Areepen.

He said most residents in the area, who are mostly Muslims, were not convinced the Wadah faction is behind the violence in the border provinces. Only some Buddhist residents believe the rumours they have heard, he added.

Mr Areepen is a PPP candidate contesting a House seat in the proportional representation system for zone 8.

He hopes the PPP will win at least seven of the 12 seats in the three provinces under the constituency system.

Mr Kuheng is confident he and his elder brother Watchara, who are contesting Narathiwat's constituency 1, will win.

Mr Kuheng and his brother are the sons of Kuseng Yaworhasan, chairman of the Narathiwat Provincial Administration Organisation. They are arch-rivals of the Democrats.

Democrat secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban said his party is expected to win up to 10 seats, with the remainder shared by other parties.

Last time the Democrats won 11 seats and the other seat went to the Chart Thai party.

To woo votes, the Democrats use charismatic chief adviser Chuan Leekpai as its selling point in the campaign, particularly in the three southernmost provinces.

Bangkok Post