The gift of graft

It's party season, but Bangkokgovernor candidates better be very cautious about getting into the swing of things.

With the gubernatorial election scheduled for January 11, all candidates have electoral laws to observe - and that means no throwing parties or giving special gifts.

"If they go to Christmas or New Year parties, they must make sure they don't hand out any gifts," said Bangkok Election Committee chairman Ping Rungsamai yesterday. "And if they are invited to the stage, their speeches should not appear intended to woo votes."

Another election official, Sumeth Uppanisakorn, ad¬vised all 14 gubernatorial candidates to study the electoral laws carefully and abide by them.

Play fair, pollsters

 Among the highprofile figures who have regis¬tered to run for governor are MR Sukhumbhand Paripatra of the Democrat Party, Yuranan Pamornmontri of Pheu Thai Party, and independent candidates Kaewsan Atibodhi and ML Nattakorn Devakula.

 Ping said the EC had  asked the pollsters to conduct the opinion polls with objectivity.