Worried PPP woos parties after jolts from EC

Worried PPP woos parties after jolts from EC

The People Power Party is trying to offer incentives in a bid to convince other parties to join it even as its hopes of leading the government have been shaken, a PPP source said yesterday.

Published on January 5, 2008

The Election Commission (EC) declined to endorse 65 PPP winning candidates on Thursday. Parties that had earlier agreed to join a PPP-led government yesterday hinted they might change their minds.

The source said PPP executives had contacted key Puea Pandin members and offered to campaign for their candidates if the PPP candidates got Red Cards, disqualifying them from standing for re-election.

The source said the PPP was still worried whether Chart Thai leader Banharn Silapa-archa would agree to join a coalition as they still had differences on some ministerial berths.

The People Power Party MP candidates won 233 seats. The party has 168 endorsed seats in Parliament so far while the Democrat Party has 159 endorsed MPs out of 165 winning candidates. However, three PPP winning candidates have been disqualified while four have received yellow cards.

Chart Thai deputy leader Somsak Prisananuntagul said the party would meet on Monday to analyse its results and would not in the meantime make any political decision, especially when the EC had not completed the process of endorsing the MPs elect and issuing red and yellow cards.

Asked whether he could confirm his party would join a PPP-led government, Somsak said it was still waiting to know its final number of MP seats. However, he said it was still in alliance with the Puea Pandin Party.

"We can only say the number of seats is not finalised yet. And how can we be sure the EC will be able to endorse up to 95 per cent of the MPs?" he said.

General Chettha Thanajaro, Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana leader, said his party would remain noncommittal for the moment as it would have to reconsider its position if other parties changed their minds and joined a Democrat-led government when the EC had finalised its endorsements.

A PPP source said former PM Thaksin Shinawatra was worried about plots to stop the PPP from forming the next government, including through use of red and yellow cards.

Kesinee Jaikawang,

Samatcha Hoonsara,

Attayuth Butrsripoom

The Nation