Thursday, June 30, 2011

UN Chief Calls For 'Fair, Transparent' Election In Thailand

June 30, 2011
Source: RTT News

(RTTNews) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for a "fair, credible and transparent" election in Thailand which goes to the polls on Sunday.

He urged all parties to shun violence before, during and after the crucial general election and "to accept and respect the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box," a statement issued by his spokesman said.

Ban "expects the elections will be conducted peacefully and in a fair, credible and transparent manner so as to contribute to reconciliation and the consolidation of democratic norms in the country," the statement said.

Following fears that the July 3 election would trigger violence, more than 430 candidates have sought protection and the authorities plan to deploy 170,000 policemen to guard polling stations on the voting day.

Even though there are 42 political parties in the fray, the main contest is between the ruling Democrat Party led by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the principal Opposition party 'Pheu Thai' headed by Yingluck Shinawatra, the younger sister of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who lives in self-exile in Dubai.

Ousted in the 2006 coup, Thaksin fled the country before a Thai court sentenced him in absentia to two years in jail for corruption. The billionaire ex-Premier was also wanted for criminal charges including terrorism. He was linked to a two-month violent protests by his 'Red Shirt' working class supporters, who laid a siege to capital Bangkok last year leading to an Army crackdown in which over 90 people were killed.

The Royal Thai Army, which had carried out 18 coups in the past, is a powerful player in Sunday's parliamentary elections. Army chief Prayuth Chan-Ocha said recently that as a neutral entity, it had no intention of meddling with the election. But his warning that the monarchy was under threat and his appeal to voters to elect "good people" have left no one in doubt that the Army has already made its choice. Political observers interpret his remarks as against Yingluck Shinawatra.

Abhisit is hopeful of winning the election and form the next government. Addressing poll rallies, he denied the allegation of the Pheu Thai party that his government had turned areas of trade with neighboring countries into battlefields. In fact, judging from cross-border trade figures, trade with neighboring countries had considerably increased, he claimed.

There had been problems with Cambodia but they were created by the previous governments under the People Power and Pheu Thai parties, he was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying.

(RTTNews) - Abhisit called for all concerned to look forward to the election, saying that there had been no conditions which could lead to a coup. Nearly 47 million people are eligible for Sunday's voting.

by RTT Staff Writer

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