VZCZCXYZ0354
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBK #0665/01 0630825
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 030825Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2033
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0448
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 2213
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 4322
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 5636
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 8407
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 000665 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MLS; NSC FOR PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM TH
SUBJECT: THAIS UNENTHUSIASTICALLY ELECT HALF A SENATE 
 
REF: A. BANGKOK 633 (SENATOR SELECTIONS) 
     ¶B. BANGKOK 84 (SENATE SELECTION BEGINS) 
 
BANGKOK 00000665  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission James F. Entwistle, reason 1.4 ( 
b) and (d). 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) Thais returned to the polls on March 2 to elect 76 
Senators in the 150-seat upper house of Parliament in 
elections that saw a lower-than-expected voter turnout.  A 
high-profile committee had earlier selected the other 74 
Senators.  Thailand's Election Commission (ECT) blamed voter 
apathy for the low turnout.  A prominent NGO activist won the 
highly-contested race in Bangkok, possibly indicating the 
capital's voters hoped to elect someone to check the 
influence of the People's Power Party-dominated lower house. 
Some politically-connected and other high-profile individuals 
won less contested races in other provinces in an ostensibly 
non-partisan election campaign.  The ECT said it had received 
55 election-related complaints, 16 of them serious, and hoped 
to complete investigations and certify the election results 
within seven days.  Although additional fraud allegations may 
still surface, the elections appear to have been free and 
fair.  It remains to be seen, however, whether the new Senate 
will remain independent and how it will interact with the 
fully-elected lower house of Parliament.  End summary. 
 
THAI ELECTION REDUX 
------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Following the February 19 selection of 74 Senators 
to the 150-seat upper house of Parliament based on the 
recommendation of a high-profile committee (ref A), Thais 
returned to the polls on March 2 to elect the remaining 76 
Senators.  Each elected Senator will represent one of the 
country's 76 provinces for a six-year term.  After the polls 
closed, the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) announced 
that 55.9% of the electorate had voted, a figure dramatically 
lower than the 74.5% turnout in the December 23 elections for 
the lower house of Parliament.  Turnout was exceptionally 
sluggish in Bangkok, where only approximately 40% of 
registered voters cast ballots.  The ECT blamed the low 
turnout on an electorate "bored" with politics, and at least 
one ECT official reportedly faulted Senate candidates for 
failing to mobilize a high turnout.  (Comment: Strict 
election laws dramatically circumscribed the ability of 
candidates to campaign for elected Senate seats; blaming 
Senate candidates for the low turnout may strike many as 
unfair.  End comment.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) Out of the 487 candidates running nationwide, 35 
competed for the single, high-profile Senate seat in Bangkok. 
 On March 2, the ECT released unofficial results indicating 
that prominent consumer rights and anti-corruption advocate 
(and close Embassy contact) Rosana Tositrakul won a landslide 
victory with nearly 50% of the vote in the capital.  Senate 
contests in other provinces were not as highly contested.  In 
Phang Nga province, for example, one candidate ran unopposed. 
 10 Senators-elect are women, while 25 are individuals who 
lost their Senate positions following the September 2006 coup 
d'etat. 
 
A NON-PARTISAN SENATE? 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Senate elections are ostensibly non-partisan, as 
registered political party members are disqualified from 
being Senators, as are relatives of elected representatives. 
Nevertheless, pundits felt that some Senators-elect (possibly 
as many as 40 of the 76 elected Senators) benefited from the 
support of or were otherwise tied to prominent political 
figures.  Other observers felt that name recognition played a 
large role in a generally low-key election campaign.  In 
Chantaburi, the Senator-elect is the husband of a prominent 
local government official who is seen as close to the 
governing People's Power Party (PPP).  In Ayuthaya, voters 
elected the scion of a prominent political family.  In many 
other provinces, prominent business leaders and individuals 
 
BANGKOK 00000665  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
connected in some way to famous politicians won their 
respective contests.  One prominent human rights activist 
told us on March 3 that he believed only Bangkok 
Senator-elect Rosana and Pattani Senator-elect Worawit Baru, 
a former National Reconciliation Commissioner, would not be 
beholden to vested political interests in the new Senate. 
 
MOSTLY FREE AND FAIR 
-------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) In Narathiwat Province, suspected insurgents 
reportedly detonated a roadside bomb which injured five 
government officials who were inspecting nearby polling 
stations.  Elsewhere in the country, there were relatively 
few problems or allegations of voter fraud.  On March 3, an 
ECT official told us that 55 election-related complaints, 
including some relating to vote-buying, had been filed thus 
far.  The ECT considered 16 of them serious enough to merit 
further scrutiny by ECT investigatory panels.  The official 
indicated that the ECT would likely endorse election winners 
in complaint-free constituencies by March 5.  The ECT hoped 
to complete the pending investigations and officially certify 
all election winners by March 10. 
 
¶6. (C) Comment: Vote-buying has been a problem in previous 
Senate elections and additional fraud allegations may still 
surface.  Thus far, it appears that the government 
administered the elections capably and that the electorate 
has accepted the results.  We will continue to urge Thai 
officials to fairly investigate all allegations of vote fraud 
and vote buying.  On the whole, however, the elections appear 
to have been free and fair, and the outcome seems to reflect 
the genuine will of the Thai people. 
 
¶7. (C) Comment continued: The decision to select 74 of the 
150 Senators remains highly controversial.  (Note: Prior to 
the promulgation of the 1997 constitution, all Thai Senators 
were appointed.  End note.)  Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, 
for example, recently indicated publicly he felt the country 
should revert to a fully-elected Senate.  The landslide 
election of prominent activist Rosana in Bangkok indicates 
that many Thai voters, at least in the capital, hope the 
Senate will be an effective check on the power of the 
fully-elected lower house of Parliament.  Nevertheless, it 
remains to be seen whether the new Senate will be as 
independent as the country's constitution drafters envisioned 
and whether it can remain free of partisan influence. 
JOHN