Nikorn Chamnong, director and secretary to the party's election management committee, said Chat Thai was confident of winning seats in the deep South because party leader Banharn Silapa-archa had already won support from people there.

Nikorn said Banharn had been following up on the problems of people in Narathiwat, which had made people in the three southernmost provinces interested in supporting Chat Thai.

In the general election of February 2005, Chat Thai took one constituency in Narathiwat, the first seat the party had ever won in the deep South.

Nikorn said the party would also draft its policy on how to solve the violence that has plagued the region since 2004. Its committee on the southern problem would meet today to draft the policies. Banharn would chair the meeting himself, he said.

Nikorn said Chat Thai would field candidates in more than half of the 400 constituencies nationwide, and the party was confident it would be able to hold its seats in the central and northeastern provinces.

Apart from contesting constituency-based House seats, the party would also file a full list of 100 party-list candidates, he said.

Nikorn said the party-list candidates would comprise academics from various fields, party executives and representatives from all the regions - especially from the 14 southern provinces.

He said Chat Thai expected the October 15 election to be clean and fair under the watch of the new Election Commission.

Chat Thai expected to receive more political support because of Banharn's policy of pushing for reconciliation during the current political crisis, he said.