TRT refutes charges of meetings to plan election fraud
Details of alleged meetings to plan election fraud in last April's poll are incorrect, according to a former Thai Rak Thai government minister and the party's current party acting secretary-general.
Pongsak Ruktapongpisal told the Constitution Tribunal yesterday earlier testimony of alleged meetings contained errors of fact. He said witnesses accusing the Thai Rak Thai of electoral fraud must never have been to party headquarters as claimed. The tribunal was in its 12th day of evidence against Thai Rak Thai for allegedly employing small political parties to run against it in the April 2 election last year. The allegations assert Thai Rak Thai did so to ensure its candidates need not accumulate a minimum requirement of 20 per cent of the vote in constituencies where candidates ran unopposed. Pongsak disputed earlier testimony from witnesses who said they had attended the party headquarters. He said they incorrectly positioned the office of former defence minister Thamarak Isarangura on the fourth floor of the building. It is on the third, he told the tribunal. He said their descriptions of his own fourth-floor office were wrong, too. His room is just four metres by five metres and too small to host a large meeting. In addition, Pongsak told the tribunal he had left the party by the time the alleged meetings with himself and Thamarak took place. Pattana Chart Thai Party coordinator Chawakarn Tosawat has already told the tribunal his group was approached by Thai Rak Thai executives to hire candidates to represent small parties. Chawakarn testified his group met Thamarak at his party headquarters on March 2 last year. Pongsak was present to assist in payment negotiations. Chawakarn and the group visited Thamarak at the Defence Ministry the following day to receive the money, he has told the hearing. Defence Ministry chief-of-staff at the time General Trairong Intaratat told the tribunal yesterday this was not possible. Thamarak was busy with other meetings that day and there was no appointment for him with Chawakarn and his colleagues. Trairong denied any payments were made to or meetings held with members of the Thai Ground Party, another organisation alleged to have been employed by the Thai Rak Thai. He said he was with his family on Saturday, March 4, another day in question, and at the Royal Turf Club the day after that.
Kornchanok Raksaseri The Nation
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