Thai election campaigning begins
Print Edition
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s party yesterday kicked off campaigning for February elections in the face of an opposition boycott and protester plans to “shut down” Bangkok in a bid to derail the vote.
The Puea Thai party launched its re-election bid with rallies in its northern heartlands and on the outskirts of the capital, which has been shaken by weeks of sometimes violent anti-government demonstrations that have left eight people dead and about 400 wounded.
“I am confident that the campaign will go smoothly — we are not the ones triggering conflict,” said party leader Jarupong Ruangsuwan, adding the party’s election slogan would urge people to vote to “preserve democracy.”
Yingluck called snap elections after coming under intense pressure from protesters vowing to rid the country of the influence of her brother — former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Demonstrators, who have vowed to disrupt the election on February 2, want Thai democracy to be suspended for a year or more, with a “people’s council” installed to implement loosely defined reforms.
Protesters plan to occupy Bangkok from January 13 in the runup to the poll, vowing to prevent government officials from going to work and to cut off power and water to official buildings.
They also plan several marches in Bangkok starting from today to build momentum ahead of the occupation attempt.
Thailand has been periodically convulsed by political bloodshed since Thaksin was overthrown by royalist generals in a coup in 2006.
The current rallies, led by a former opposition MP, erupted over a now-shelved amnesty plan that could have allowed the former leader to return.
Thailand’s main opposition Democrat Party, which has not won an elected majority in two decades, support the rallies and have opted to boycott the election.
As campaigning began, several thousand Puea Thai supporters gathered in a field on the outskirts of Bangkok, one of five party rally locations.
Yingluck’s government still enjoys strong support and would be expected to win.
Doubts remain over whether a government could be formed, even if the election proceeds.
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