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Published on October 29, 2007

Spokesman Kuthep Saikrajang alleged the deployment was to block support for the party, and part of a plan by the Council for National Security (CNS) to undermine it.

Kuthep cited Constituency 1 in Si Sa Ket as one area where this was occurring. He said five soldiers from the 16th Infantry Division in Yasothon were sent to each district in the constituency to find out who was canvassing for the party.

Kuthep said workers were told not to support the party. They were told they would be blocked from buying votes, but other parties would be allowed to, he added.

"This has really happened and the soldiers really exist. I've called those soldiers and they said they came from the Yasothon base," Kuthep said.

He said he did not blame Army chief General Anupong Paochinda because the soldiers were acting on the orders of former CNS chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, who is now a deputy prime minister.

Kuthep said Si Sa Ket locals were willing to testify, but he wanted Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to order the soldiers to desist.

He also called on the Election Commission (EC) to make a formal statement on whether former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra could act as a party adviser. He said the party did not plan to return Thaksin to politics but wanted "valuable economic advice" from the former premier.

The party also accused the EC of redrawing constituency boundaries with the intention of undermining its support.

Deputy spokeswoman Thitima Chaisang said the EC had put districts that are not adjoining into the same constituency, or divided districts into parts and assigned each to a different constituencies.

She said grouping districts that are not adjacent violated the Members of Parliament and Senators Election Act by .

She cited the Central province Chachoengsao as one example of this.

Deputy spokesman Supachai Phosu said the "weird" redrawing of constituencies had happened in several Northeast provinces too, including Nakhon Phanom.

Supachai said local officials told him the constituencies had been split to weaken political support for his party.

The Nation