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Published on August 6, 2007

The New Aspiration Party (NAP)yesterday accused members of former prime minister Thaksin Shina-watra's regime of paying voters in the Northeast to reject the draft constitution.

NAP leader Chingchai Mongkoltham alleged that members of the former regime had been paying between Bt200 and Bt500 per voter for "no" votes in the public referendum on the new charter on August 19.

Chingchai would not name the people involved, but said the money was paid by "the old power clique".

"The government is facing the old power clique, which wants the dictatorial regime of the Thaksin government to return to power, and will use the draft constitution as a tool," he said.

"This is a dangerous signal and the government and the Council for National Security [CNS] must carefully study the issue to find measures to deal with it."

Chingchai said the old power clique was buying votes against the draft charter in the Northeast because it was the region with the most voters and the people there were poor and not fully informed of the alleged wrongdoings of the Thaksin government.

A delegation of people from the Northeast met PM's Office Minister Thirapat Serirangsan yesterday to make a similar allegation of vote-buying against the draft charter.

The group, led by Wutthipong Luang-udomchai, chairman of the State Power Monitoring Organisation, comprised representatives from Surin, Buri Ram and Si Sa Ket provinces.

Wutthipong said he had filed complaints with police against the alleged vote buyers.

Thirapat told the group that he would inform the Cabinet and interior minister about the allegation.

On another issue, Chingchai said National Legislative Assembly Speaker Meechai Ruchuphan's claim that a certain political party had paid huge sums of money to bring former MPs into its fold to run for House seats was true.

Meechai on Saturday said he had learned that each former MP received at least Bt30 million from the unidentified party.

Chingchai said the government and CNS should do something against such parties or else national politics would return to a vicious circle and the situation could become worse.