Bid to make EC pay damages for ballot
An activist filed an administrative lawsuit yesterday demanding the Election Commission reimburse the state to the tune of Bt2.3 billion for the botched April 2 election and pay another Bt3 billion in compensation to 10 million people who opted for a "no-vote."
Kriangsak Liuchanpattana, a supporter of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), filed the suit at the Songkhla Provincial Administrative Court. "I want the EC to bear the financial responsibility of the botched April 2 vote," he said. He called on voters to join him in demanding compensation by filling forms detailing verified travelling expenses to and from polling stations, plus earnings lost because of the botched election. He said suggested each voter would have to be paid Bt200 in compensation. In another development, the PAD issued a statement in Bangkok, demanding that caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra resign. "Thaksin's exit is the only way to end the country's political crisis," PAD spokesman Suriyasai Katasila said. The October 15 election would be a futile exercise if Thaksin remained in power and the Election Commission was allowed to manage the electoral process despite having lost the people's trust, he said. Thaksin and the EC should step aside immediately to pave the way for society to return to normal, he said.
The Nation Songkhla
|
