Small political parties oppose postponement of Feb 2 general election

BANGKOK, January 27 (TNA) - Small political parties have sent a letter to Caretaker Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the Election Commission of Thailand (EC) to jointly express their opposition to the proposed postponement of the new general election, set on February 2, 2014. Suthin Pijarn, leader of the New Democracy Party who represents 30 small Thai political parties, handed the letter to representatives of the caretaker prime minister and the EC on Monday to oppose the election postponement, reasoning that the postponement would cause damage to the small parties as they had spent money on their vote campaigns. Suthin vowed if the February 2 national poll was postponed, executives of the small parties would file civil and criminal lawsuits against the caretaker prime minister and the EC. Suthin said the small parties would also propose that the election agency be disbanded and the Ministry of Interior organize the new general election instead if the EC could not organize the national poll as scheduled. Meanwhile, Caretaker Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan told journalists that he has instructed provincial governors, assistant provincial governors and district chiefs to support the EC in realizing the new general election. Charupong noted that he has also ordered the governors of 10 provinces where Sunday's advance voting was blocked to explain how they supported the EC in attempts to organize the advance balloting. Dr. Weng Tojirakarn, a party list-MP candidate of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, demanded the EC to compensate about 440,000 eligible voters whom anti-government protesters blocked from casting their advance ballots, while complaining that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) ordered its staffs to leave polling units right away. Vote campaigns have, however, continued in many provinces, especially those in the Thai North, Northeast and the central region.(TNA)