ID :
183720
Mon, 05/23/2011 - 05:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/183720
The shortlink copeid
COUP MAKER, MASSAGE PARLOUR TYCOON JOIN THE RACE
BANGKOK (Bernama) – The 2006 coup maker General Sonthi
Boonyaratglin and former massage parlour tycoon Chuwit Kamolvisit have joined the race for the July 3 general election.
Sonthi, leader of Matubhum party, and Chuwit, who led the newly-formed Rak Prathet Thai (Love Thai) party, have confirmed their candidacies to run for the party list of members of parliament (MP).
The party list MP is appointed based on proportionate votes each party received during the election.
Sonthi, the architect of the Sept 19, 2006 bloodless coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said he wanted to offer an alternative to voters who could not accept the two giants – Democrat and Pheu Thai.
Democrat is led by incumbent Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Pheu Thai, by Thaksin, as its de facto leader.
"I launched the coup, seven years ago, to preserve the country and this time, I intend to do the same through democratic means," said Sonthi, a retired military general.
It is common practice in this country for a former military general to retain his title after retirement.
Sonthi wants his party to win at least 10 seats in the troubled southern provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani which have been the Democrat stronghold.
He is a Muslim and is targeting the support of six million Muslim voters, as well as fence-sitters, in its mission this time.
The Matubhum party held three parliamentary seats before the dissolution of Parliament.
The party is one of seven coalition partners in the Democrat-led government before the dissolution.
It is also a common practice in Thailand for each party to contest
individually in the election as coalition party was not formed before election but probably, after election, depending on the situation if the winning party failed to acquire a simple majority.
Chuwit, a former massage parlour tycoon-turned-politician, would be steering his party in this election with a message to fight corruption and vice.
His campaign poster depicts the man as nursing a headache over the country's problems of corruption and vice.
He won the 2005 general election party list seat under the now disbanded Chart Thai Party ticket.
Meanwhile, top guns of the Democrat and Pheu Thai have kicked off their respective party campaigns nationwide.
Abhisit is attacking Pheu Thai's plan to introduce amnesty law to grant amnesty to convicted politicians, including Thaksin.
"The country will be in a state of chaos if Pheu Thai introduced such law as many people are against such law," he said.
With 41 days to go before polling, Abhist initially predicted that Democrat and Pheu Thai would get about 200 seats each in the 500-seat new House.
However, Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who is the Pheu Thai's prime ministerial candidate, was confident that her party could form a simple majority government.
She has asked for votes so that she could revive her brother's policies in helping the Thais, especially the poor.
Many poor people felt indebted to Thaksin who introduced, among others, free education and free medical health programmes when he was in power.
Pheu Thai is now campaigning on the slogan, 'Thaksin Thinks, Pheu Thai Acts'.
Boonyaratglin and former massage parlour tycoon Chuwit Kamolvisit have joined the race for the July 3 general election.
Sonthi, leader of Matubhum party, and Chuwit, who led the newly-formed Rak Prathet Thai (Love Thai) party, have confirmed their candidacies to run for the party list of members of parliament (MP).
The party list MP is appointed based on proportionate votes each party received during the election.
Sonthi, the architect of the Sept 19, 2006 bloodless coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said he wanted to offer an alternative to voters who could not accept the two giants – Democrat and Pheu Thai.
Democrat is led by incumbent Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Pheu Thai, by Thaksin, as its de facto leader.
"I launched the coup, seven years ago, to preserve the country and this time, I intend to do the same through democratic means," said Sonthi, a retired military general.
It is common practice in this country for a former military general to retain his title after retirement.
Sonthi wants his party to win at least 10 seats in the troubled southern provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani which have been the Democrat stronghold.
He is a Muslim and is targeting the support of six million Muslim voters, as well as fence-sitters, in its mission this time.
The Matubhum party held three parliamentary seats before the dissolution of Parliament.
The party is one of seven coalition partners in the Democrat-led government before the dissolution.
It is also a common practice in Thailand for each party to contest
individually in the election as coalition party was not formed before election but probably, after election, depending on the situation if the winning party failed to acquire a simple majority.
Chuwit, a former massage parlour tycoon-turned-politician, would be steering his party in this election with a message to fight corruption and vice.
His campaign poster depicts the man as nursing a headache over the country's problems of corruption and vice.
He won the 2005 general election party list seat under the now disbanded Chart Thai Party ticket.
Meanwhile, top guns of the Democrat and Pheu Thai have kicked off their respective party campaigns nationwide.
Abhisit is attacking Pheu Thai's plan to introduce amnesty law to grant amnesty to convicted politicians, including Thaksin.
"The country will be in a state of chaos if Pheu Thai introduced such law as many people are against such law," he said.
With 41 days to go before polling, Abhist initially predicted that Democrat and Pheu Thai would get about 200 seats each in the 500-seat new House.
However, Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who is the Pheu Thai's prime ministerial candidate, was confident that her party could form a simple majority government.
She has asked for votes so that she could revive her brother's policies in helping the Thais, especially the poor.
Many poor people felt indebted to Thaksin who introduced, among others, free education and free medical health programmes when he was in power.
Pheu Thai is now campaigning on the slogan, 'Thaksin Thinks, Pheu Thai Acts'.
