Preponderance of red cards for PPP points to Election Commission bias

What is important in our December elections is not who won, but whether the winner is seen to be legitimate or not, both in the eyes of those to be governed and of the world.

Two events threaten to call the legitimacy of our next government into doubt.

First, why, of the 83 candidates being investigated by the Election Commission (EC), are 65, or 78.3 per cent, from just one party - the People Power Party (PPP)? Surely other parties fielded large numbers of candidates also - or are the other groups more law-abiding than the PPP?

Rather, since many PPP strongholds were under martial law at election time, I'd expect the number of illegal activities to be lower in these provinces than in others, resulting in fewer PPP candidates being caught. Or, is the EC, appointed by the coup-makers, biased?

Second, why is the case against the PPP, in which the party is accused of being a nominee for Thaksin's banned Thai Rak Thai party, just surfacing now? It's made no secret of its ties to Thai Rak Thai executives, policies, etc, from the start, and, indeed, that was its main drawing card.

We, Bangkok elite, must accept that in a democracy, it's one person, one vote - regardless of education or wealth. If we hold that the rural folk aren't sophisticated enough to see through the alleged shenanigans of a Thaksin, then it's our job to educate them - just as it's their job to tell us city dwellers their viewpoints. We should be above governing by hook or by crook.

The EC, and the courts, must make every effort to deliberate with transparency and impartiality, so that the will of the majority of voters prevails. It does our reputation, sustainability, and economic well-being no good to install a government rejected by the majority. I, for one, would much rather be a legitimate opposition leader than an illegitimate prime minister.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

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The People Power Party would bankrupt country

It must be frustrating for the T-…, sorry, for the Samak-led People Power Party (PPP) not to be able yet to form the new government but, on the contrary, to risk facing new elections as a disqualified Thai Rak Thai stand-in and to have already a few elected candidates red- and yellow-carded.

After all, they have been openly supporting their backroom boss throughout the coup period and their party membership, starting from Samak himself, stands on no crystal clear record.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Samak has started shooting sweeping, blanket accusations all around - just to create his usual sonic interference and confusion.

The results of the elections only highlight the electoral divide between the influential urban (especially Bangkokian) and the more numerous rural voters.

The former are better informed on the politicians' actual performance (a very poor one indeed) and more attuned to the political realities and needs of the Kingdom.

The latter, still enslaved to the patronage system, know very little other than what their godfathers tell them. Further, even if they do not believe them, they know better than to openly disagree - often on the grounds of wanting to continue to breathe.

A third T-…, sorry, a Samak-led government, dominated already by ruthless and callous reactionaries, would result in an empty national trough and many satisfied parliamentarian snouts and an immediate grievous exacerbation of the unrest in the South - at least.

If such a PPP government is formed, it would open a new dichotomy in Thai politics: an unprecedented depression by unprecedented corruption, relieved only by attempted democracy by coups.

Krabong Kuverakorn

Bangkok

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Supreme Court, EC must be given the final word

It should now be obvious to us Thais that the December 23 election did not achieve its purpose. Instead of bringing about harmony, the results of the election indicated that a great divide still exists between the urban middle class and rural folks. In some cases, this divide is widening at an alarming speed to the point where national security is being threatened.

Protests against the Election Commission for its issuance of yellow and red cards to winning candidates from the People Power Party (PPP) are growing in intensity by the day. And if the remaining 65 suspended members of the PPP were to suffer the same fate, no one can predict the degree of the turmoil that would befall Thailand.

 Forming the next government, either with the PPP or the Democrat Party as the core, is not going to be easy despite claims to the contrary. Chart Thai Party leader Banharn Silapa-archa has said that the yellow or red cards are not going to alter the fact that the PPP has won the election, which is probably true, because the yellow or red cards cannot be issued wholesale and without indisputable reasons. But Banharn has forgotten that the PPP faces a far more serious problem. He has overlooked the fact that the Supreme Court has agreed to consider three complaints filed by a Democrat candidate. Two of these weighty complaints, if proven, could sink the PPP for good, while the lesser charge could partially, if not wholly, nullify the December 23 election.

We have heard arguments from people of goodwill that the results of the election must be accepted without conditions so that the country can move forward. So far we have not seen any side willing to abide by the rules of the game. Prime-minister hopeful Samak Sundaravej has claimed that an "invisible" and "dirty" hand is working to prevent him from achieving his goal. At the same time, his rivals from the Democrat Party have reason to believe that massive electoral fraud was committed on or before election day, which resulted in their party coming in a distant second. Moreover, those small- and medium-sized parties seem to suffer from the illusion that they can dictate terms to the two main parties, when they are still divided internally themselves. In such a situation one predictable outcome is the stalemate we're in now.

And if the new government can somehow be formed, many political pundits, including those who gaze at the stars, have long since reached the conclusion that it is going to be a short-lived one. In the end we are going to have a new election, and if so we should have it sooner rather than later.

Once more we are turning to the one and only institution that has been the best hope of our country in times of great crisis. The responsibilities we place on the wisdom and courage of those judges who will sit to review the complaints are tremendous. Essentially the complaints amount to no more than the question as to whether this past election was legitimate or not.

All bickering must stop once the Supreme Court reaches its verdict. One way or another, the impasse must be broken and there can be no more arguments.

Prachyadavi Tavedikul

Bangkok

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More than lip service needed on road safety

Re: "Education campaign needed for motorcyclists", Letters, January 6.

I am in full agreement with Gareth Clayton that too much emphasis has been placed on traffic accident statistics during major holidays by agencies that should have been tasked with preventing them.

But this being Thailand it is indeed too much to ask all those governmental bodies that are responsible for traffic and health to put their heads together and formulate some workable plan to reduce road carnage just for once, because we do have the means to do it (the funds collected from "sin tax").

But of course this is hard and thankless work that requires some insight from those in power who seem to be somewhat lacking in substance.

Vic Phanumphai

Bangkok

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