This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002294 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2016 
TAGS: PGOV TH SNAP
SUBJECT: MORE TROUBLED ELECTIONS:  SENATE RESULTS AND MP 
UPDATE 
 
REF: BANGKOK 2156 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR SUSAN M. SUTTON.  REASON: 1.4 (D) 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary:  Thai voters turned out in reportedly lower 
than expected numbers on April 19 to elect new members of the 
200 seat Senate.  The polls were largely uneventful save in 
the separatist violence afflicted southern border province of 
Narathiwat, where three persons died in separate shootings 
and bombings.  Critics are charging that that at least half 
of those likely to be announced as winners have some tie to 
the Thai Rak Thai party.  Preparations and controversy 
continue for the April 23 by-elections in some 39 lower house 
constituencies where no candidates had been able to garner 
more that 20 percent of the votes in single party polls in 
the earlier general elections (and one where the single 
candidate was later disqualified).  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  On April 19, Thai voters cast ballots for the 200 
member national Senate.  Observers say that there were fewer 
voters turned out than they had anticipated. Embassy monitors 
saw a mixed turnout - high in some places and low in others. 
As noted in reftel, each province is regarded as one 
constituency and awarded Senate seats proportional to 
population.  In cases where a province has more than one 
senatorial seat, the candidates who receive the highest 
number of votes in respective order will be elected as 
Senators up to the seats available.  Some observers said that 
the lower voter numbers was due to the polls being held in 
the middle of the week.  An official from the election 
monitoring organization Poll Watch, however, attributed the 
low turnout in some areas to "election fatigue."  As he 
explained to poloff, the April general election for the lower 
house and next week's by-election to address unresolved 
elections in some 40 constituencies have induced in some 
voters a sense of ennui.  (Note: a recent poll in Bangkok 
reported that almost 44 percent of respondents were unsure of 
the role and duties of the Senate.  End note) 
 
CRITICS SEE THAKSIN TRT THAI CONNECTIONS IN MANY OF THE 
ELECTEES 
 
¶3.  (C)  Already the new Senate is being criticized for 
containing too many TRT-related members.  Prominent new 
Senators in Bangkok considered to be in the Thaksin camp 
include: Samak Sunthonwet, former Governor of Bangkok and 
critic of U.S. foreign and human rights policy; Uthai 
Phimchaichon, former House Speaker and TRT party list MP; 
Samat Malulim, a former Bangkok Councilor; Dr. Nalini 
Thaisin, sister of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration 
Permanent Secretary Natthanon and Professor Manwipha 
Intharanat, spouse of Major General Trairong, who is a close 
associate of Defense Minister General Thammarak. 
 
BUT OTHER PROMINENT TRT OPPONENTS WIN SEATS 
 
¶4.  (C)  But prominent candidates in Bangkok identified as 
linked to Thaksin's opponents in the political opposition, 
such as the Democrat Party (DP), or the activist groups such 
as the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), also won seats. 
 Police Captain Nitiphum Naowarat won the most votes in the 
Bangkok polls.  He is, among other things, a former Border 
Patrol official, a convert to Islam, prominent anti-Thaksin 
speaker during recent PAD rallies and a critic of U.S. 
foreign policy.  Ex-National Counter Corruption Commission 
Secretary General Klanarong Chanthik pursued Thaksin's asset 
 
SIPDIS 
concealment case in the NCCC and in the Constitutional Court. 
 He was also a frequent PAD speaker against the PM in recent 
rallies. Rosana Tositrakun, a noted social and political 
activist, was a leader in the successful effort to block 
privatization of the Electricity and Gas of Thailand and a 
vigorous pursuer of corruption charges against Thaksin.  She 
also campaigned against a Thai-U.S. FTA.  On the other hand, 
former Bangkok Governor Phichit Rattakun appears to be more 
pro-U.S. in his attitude. 
 
¶5.  (C)  Other new Senators are less politically active and 
more of a question mark.  Sombat Sukthinthai, a well known 
former actor, has never been politically active.  Nor has 
been Chutinan Phiromphakdi, a relative of the Queen and son 
of a wealthy beverage business family. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Not surprisingly, candidates linked to the TRT are 
believed to have done well in the Northeast and North, where 
in Nakhon Ratchasima, Buriram, Roi-et and Chiang Mai, for 
example, spouses and siblings of prominent TRT MPs and 
Cabinet members took seats.  In fact, the local press is 
dubbing this "the Senate of husbands and wives." 
 
¶7.  (C)  Just as predictably, Senate candidates thought 
linked to the popular opposition Democrat Party (DP) did well 
in the southern provinces.  Huwaidiya Phitsuwan, sister of DP 
Deputy Leader Surin Phitsuwan, took a Senate seat from Nakhon 
Si Thammarat.  In Chumphon, Chatchai Phalang, brother of DP 
MP Suwarat, picked up the province's seat.  In Songkhla, 
Thipphan Phatthano, spouse of a former DP MP, won a seat. 
 
 
BLOODSHED DISRUPTS POLLS IN NARATHIWAT 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Though nationwide the polls were peaceful, 
election-related bloodshed occurred in the separatist 
violence-effected southern border province of Narathiwat. 
The Narathiwat Vice Governor's Office confirmed to the 
Embassy that three fatal attacks took place on election day. 
On April 19, suspected separatists reportedly shot dead a 
police sergeant (and wounded another policeman) at a polling 
station in Muang district.  Later in the day, a bomb planted 
in a roadway killed a person riding on a truck carrying 
ballots.  Another roadside bomb killed an election official 
and wounded 11 others after the polls closed.  Several other 
bombings, but no deaths, were reported in neighboring Yala 
Province. 
 
BY-ELECTIONS LOOM: CURRENTLY BEING FOUGHT IN THE COURTS 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  Now eyes are turning to the upcoming by-elections 
on April 23 to decide seats unresolved in the April 2 general 
elections, all but one because the single TRT candidate in 
the April 2 polls couldn't get the required 20 percent of the 
vote.  The pre-election skirmishing is now taking place in 
the courts.  Following a DP complaint, the Thai Supreme Court 
issued a milestone ruling this week to disqualify nine MP 
candidates, including two for "hopping" to run in another 
constituency on April 23.  This brings the total number of 
TRT MP candidates who must stand-alone and face the 20% 
minimum rule from 16 to 24.  (Comment: Since voters of the 
affected by-election constituencies did not give the 20% 
minimum support for their stand-alone TRT candidate on April 
2, it would be difficult for the same TRT candidate to win 
the required votes if they were to run unopposed again in the 
by-elections.  End Comment.) 
 
¶10. (SBU) When asked about their rational for allowing the 
"constituency-hopping" to take place during by-election 
registration, EC officials stated the EC and the Supreme 
Court had different interpretations of the Constitution.  The 
EC pointed out that allowing the same candidate who failed to 
obtain the required 20% minimum the first time to re-run in 
the same constituency would simply lead to the same results. 
Therefore, it made sense for them to register elsewhere. 
However, the Supreme Court ruled that since there are no 
official results from the April 2 election, allowing the 
"hopping" would legally mean that the same candidate filed to 
run in two separate constituencies, which contravenes Article 
108 of the Constitution. 
 
¶11. (U) Meanwhile, the Democratic Party (DP) has filed a 
criminal lawsuit against the Election Commission (EC) for its 
abuse of power during the snap elections.  The hearing will 
begin on May 29. 
 
SAME OLD, SAME OLD? 
 
¶12.  (C)  Comment:  The new Senate will have its work cut out 
for it in overcoming the negative image suffered by its 
predecessor as being a mere "rubber stamp" body.  The 
political inclinations of its nominally "non-political" 
members will be a particularly sensitive issue as questions 
of Thaksin influencing the governing process from behind the 
scenes will arise over coming months.  Meanwhile, the 
lawsuits just keep coming in the wake of the fraught House 
election, guaranteeing that a cloud will hang over the new 
parliament -- whenever it convenes -- for some time to come. 
 
BOYCE