Troubles and more difficulties
One of the most challenging and incredibly difficult tribes of its kind was the three-tier Senate election.
There seems to be no end in sight to the resolution of issues brought on by the votes that took place on different times, first at the neighborhood stage, before selected individuals moved on to the provincial and national rounds.
Much before the elections, it was believed that the vote would not go as planned.
Far from it, as one social supply put it, the government’s first-ever trial with intercellular- and inter-professional party Senate polls was filled with specialized loopholes, carelessness, and abuses.
A ballot of this size and value was bound to be the subject of secret campaigning and the election of political events or their affiliates for seats in the upper House.
According to the source, there was no escaping the fact that some individuals had connections to political parties or organizations even if they had lost out on the vote.
One of the many issues that sparked a storm of grievances lodged with the EC was political involvement.
It has transpired, post-election, that the majority of ballot finalists may not be able to completely claim to have had no reservations about running for a Senate seat separately, as the law required them to.
In reality, some media outlets have created color-coded diagrams for the ballot winners to indicate their political party affiliations: dark for a coalition party with great support in the lower Northeast, dark for another big coalition party, and orange for a democratic party with a like-minded movement.
The red and orange camps have nearly equal representation of the 200 Senate seats, with the majority of them being painted orange. The red and orange alliances each claimed about 20 chairs, while the blue camp’s winners were estimated to have had around 150.
On Tuesday, the Senate largely elected Mongkol Surasajja, a former Buri Ram government, as its new speaker. Buri Ram is a enclave of Bhumjaithai.
The EC has continued to follow its lead, insisting it will use its traditional method of endorsing winners initially and disqualifying them later if it is determined that they have violated the Senate election laws in light of the growing problems from both strangers and individuals.
The approach, however, compounded the fear that it would ultimately cause a stalemate, keeping the incoming Senate from taking over from the incumbents. They were attacked as a result of the National Council for Peace and Order, whose leading figures played a key role in selecting them, and the coup-maker.
On July 10, the EC went ahead and certified 200 senators-elect and 100 substitutes, although one senator-elect, Kohdeeyoh Songngam, from the media practitioners and literature group, was immediately disqualified for having been employed as an adviser to the chairman of the Ang Thong provincial administrative organisation.
Some critics, including incumbent senators, argued that if the Senate poll winners were to be endorsed too quickly before responding to the complaints, the election would have to be canceled, and the senators appointed under the previous administration would have to serve for a lot longer than expected.
In the midst of the chaos, some new senators, who identify as independent and pro-democracy, have referred to political affiliations that other election winners allegedly hold, criticizing the string-pullers for organizing the support that led them to office.
Political analyst Nuttaa ‘ Bow ‘ Mahattana has cautioned, saying that criticism should be taken with caution. She questioned whether these “independent” senators could openly mock other people when they themselves might have questions to ask. A candidate herself, who failed in the district voting round, Ms Nuttaa, in a live-stream, zeroed in on alleged hypocrisy by the orange camp.
She noted that the Orange Bloc did not contest the “unjust” election until the EC’s unofficial results, which revealed that many of its affiliated candidates had lost.
Ms. Nuttaa cited evidence that the orange bloc had mobilized support and had engaged in intensive and systematic lobbying from the beginning.
The bloc’s strategy involved opening a Line chatroom to communicate with about 400 of its like-minded Senate candidates. The bloc then instructed candidates to vote for themselves, as was permitted, and to give their votes to a group of friends who had already been chosen to increase the latter’s chances of winning, according to Ms Nuttaa.
However, several candidates refused to be a stepping stone for anyone. The orange candidates split up on the day of the final vote, which meant that the bloc ultimately failed to win as many winners as it had intended, according to Ms. Nuttaa.
She criticized the orange bloc for pointing the finger at the lobbying parties when it had done the same, but less successfully.
Ms. Nuttaa claimed in a Facebook post that some mainstream media outlets had an interview with a few poll winners to portray the orange bloc as angelic and that the rest of the elected senators were misrepresented in the media.
We are in a time when propagandistic manipulations and information operations are in full swing.
These methods are employed to “drive the manipulator’s own political agenda by dressing up an image of angelic versus demonic parties,” she said.
Fresh start, but now apart
Wan: Upset Pheu Thai bosses
Wan Ubumrung, a former Pheu Thai Party MP for Bangkok, has found a new political home in the Palang Pracharath Party ( PPRP ).
The outspoken politician quit Pheu Thai earlier this month after upsetting the party’s leadership by backing a party rival in a recent Pathum Thani election.
Mr. Wan stated as he made his resignation that he was open to offers from other interested parties regarding his replacement. He acknowledged that he has close ties to Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul.
Days later, he disclosed that he would join the PPRP after he and his father, Pol Capt Chalerm, met PPRP leader Prawit Wongsuwon at the Five Provinces Bordering Forest Preservation Foundation, located at the 1st Infantry Regiment in Bangkok’s Phaya Thai district.
Pol Capt Chalerm, who is still a Pheu Thai list-MP, reportedly agreed to join the PPRP, but he was unable to defect. He would have to be expelled by Pheu Thai in accordance with law in order to maintain his MP status before resigning from a different party.
However, Pheu Thai has refused to play ball. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the party’s leader, reiterated that Pol Capt Chalerm’s party has no intention of being expelling.
Mr. Wan warned Pheu Thai that it is accused of using two standards. His father should face the music if Ms. Paetongtarn could reprimand him for attending Pheu Thai’s rival’s rival’s post-local election gathering in Pathum Thani in June, even though he also attended the event. That should present grounds for Pol Capt Chalerm’s expulsion, according to Mr Wan.
As Mr Wan’s estrangement with Pheu Thai became irreconcilable, news broke that he had finally found a party to welcome him.
Gen Prawit gave Mr. Wan a warm welcome on Tuesday, helping him with the customary PPRP jacket, which also served as a symbolic sign of his full membership.
His re-election to the PPRP raises a few questions, including whether he has what it takes to win the election for his new party and why Gen Prawit is eager to welcome him and his father. According to King Prajadhipok’s Institute director Stithorn Thananithichot, one of the reasons Gen. Prawit invited Mr. Wan and his father was invited, he may have wanted to show that he is still in charge of the PPRP.
There is rife rumors that the party is being run by Capt Thamanat Prompow, its secretary-general. Gen Prawit’s influence is believed to be declining, with a number of party members supporting Capt Thamanat, who is now seen as cozying up with Pheu Thai and well-known PPRP figure Santi Promphat.
No matter how much Gen. Prawit wants to lead the party, according to Mr. Stithorn, he will ultimately have to pass the torch to Capt Thamanat.
Given the current political environment, according to Mr. Stithorn, the PPRP might turn out to be a branch of Pheu Thai at the following election, especially if Gen Prawit is forced to appoint Capt Thamanat as the leader.
Such a prospect, however, is strongly denied by Gen Prawit.
After Mr Wan’s induction on Tuesday, Gen Prawit, who rarely makes public appearances these days, hurried back to his office as he tried to give reporters a wide berth.
When questioned if the PPRP would eventually operate as a “branche” of Pheu Thai at the next election, he was clearly agitated. He reacted with a loud, sharp” No!”
Given the rise in popularity of Bangkok’s main opposition, Move Forward Party ( MPF), observers believe there is only a small chance that Mr. Wan will resign as an MP.
But despite the PPRP’s lack of support in the capital in last year’s election, Mr Wan, a former MP who had active community engagement, is presently seen as a solid candidate for the party.
” It’s better than having no one. At least the PPRP has a candidate in Bangkok to compete against the MFP. There’s still time to find a strategy when the election comes,” said Mr Stithorn.
He added that the MFP has a disproportionate following, so the best way to counteract and possibly defeat the opposition party is for other political parties to band together.
Candidates from Pheu Thai and the United Thai Nation Party received more votes overall than MFP candidates based on last year’s poll results in many Bangkok constituencies. In order to avoid undermining one another, these two parties may have to strategically opt out in particular areas.
Mr. Stithorn sees Mr. Wan’s appointment to the PPRP as a result of the organization’s plan to strengthen its standing and readiness for the upcoming elections.