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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 005578 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MLS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM TH
SUBJECT: THAI ELECTION SEASON PROMPTS CAMPAIGN, FRAUD, AND 
SAFETY WORRIES 
 
REF: A. BANGKOK 5332 (ELECTION CLOCK TICKING) 
 
     ¶B. BANGKOK 5482 (ELECTION DECREE ADVANCES) 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Thailand's campaign season is under way following 
the enactment of the royal decree establishing a December 23 
general election.  Political parties and journalists raised 
strong objections to the Election Commission of Thailand's 
(ECT) strict new campaign rules which dramatically restrict 
campaign activities and media advertisements.  A 
controversial government anti-vote buying campaign led by 
Deputy Prime Minister and coup leader Sonthi Boonyaratglin 
was launched as a new poll suggests a majority of Thai voters 
are prepared to sell their votes in the upcoming election. 
Local officials will investigate a potentially 
politically-motivated killing of a Phrae province provincial 
official and People's Power Party (PPP) supporter.  End 
summary. 
 
ELECTION DECREE LEADS TO CAMPAIGN RESTRICTIONS 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2. (SBU) The royal decree (reftel B) establishing a election 
date of December 23 was endorsed by the King on October 21, 
published in the Royal Gazette on October 24, and came into 
force on October 25, marking the official start of Thailand's 
general election campaign season.  During the week of October 
15-19, the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) finalized a 
plan to geographically designate 157 parliamentary electoral 
districts throughout the country.  Under the new 
constitution, each electoral district will contribute between 
one and three seats to the 480-seat House of Representatives. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The publication of the election decree permits the 
ECT to begin to enforce strict campaign regulations that were 
announced by the ECT on October 24.  The new regulations 
restrict the quantity, size and shape of campaign posters, 
require television stations to give equal airtime to all 
political parties, and prohibit parties from airing TV and 
radio advertisements outside of allotted time slots. 
Candidates are prohibited from participating in Buddhist 
merit-making ceremonies until the election.  The ECT rules 
also require candidates to submit detailed campaign 
expenditure reports and recommend against recruiting popular 
celebrities to participate in their campaigns. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The regulations prompted a fierce backlash from 
political parties which view the rules as overly restrictive. 
 Party leaders are particularly incensed about restrictions 
of campaign venues and on television advertising.  The leader 
of the Pracharaj party said that the rules would favor large 
parties at small parties' expense, while a Democrat Party 
official complained the new rules contravened international 
election practices by restricting the ability of political 
parties to communicate their messages to the public.  Another 
Democrat told us that the regulations would favor PPP and 
other parties that engage in vote-buying, since they motivate 
their voting base with money, rather than with campaigning. 
(Comment:  The Democrats claim that they never resort to 
vote-buying; although this is hard to credit, the Democrats 
have not recently commanded the kind of war chest that would 
make them competitive in the vote-buying market. End 
comment.)  We asked whether the ECT was deliberately 
targeting specific parties with these restrictions; the 
Democrat responded, "No, they're just crazy." Local 
journalist organizations have also raised concerns. In 
response to these complaints, the ECT announced it would 
consider relaxing some of the new regulations. 
 
SONTHI CONVENES ANTI-VOTE BUYING COMMITTEE 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) During the week of October 15-19, retired General 
and Deputy Prime Minister Sonthi Boonyaratglin convened a 
committee to battle vote-buying in the upcoming election, a 
problem that has plagued Thailand's democracy for decades. 
 
BANGKOK 00005578  002 OF 002 
 
 
The press reported that Sonthi's committee will combat 
vote-buying by raising awareness of the problem, offering 
$600-$6,000 (20,000 to 200,000 baht) rewards for vote-buying 
whistle blowers, and by asking voters to "pick good and 
capable individuals to run the country."  Although ECT 
officials are reportedly members of the committee, some 
political party members raised concerns that Sonthi's efforts 
would unconstitutionally duplicate or supersede the ECT's 
role in policing campaign irregularities.  An ECT official 
told us on October 25 that the ECT would accept Sonthi's 
help, but the ECT would remain independent and not report to 
Sonthi or any committee he heads. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The anti-vote buying efforts seemed particularly 
opportune following the publication of an Assumption Business 
Administrative College (ABAC) poll conducted between October 
15 and 20 which found that 65% of respondents expressed a 
willingness to receive gifts or money in exchange for their 
votes in the upcoming election.  The poll also revealed that 
83% of respondents would not inform authorities of 
vote-buying occurrences even if they had evidence that it was 
taking place.  (Note:  Under newly enacted election laws 
(reftel A), individuals buying votes, as well as those found 
to be selling votes, could lose their voting rights and face 
imprisonment if convicted.  End note.) 
 
PRO-THAKSIN PARTY SUPPORTER KILLED 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) In a possible case of election-related violence, 
Phrae Provincial Administrative Organization president 
Charnchai Silapauaychai was shot while jogging in a sports 
stadium on October 22 in the northern Thai province.  The 
press reported that Charnchai had recently declared his 
support for the pro-Thaksin People's Power Party (PPP). 
Police contacts have told us the killing appears to have been 
a professional hit.  A close associate of the victim has told 
us that the killing was politically motivated, although 
police have yet to uncover evidence suggesting a motive or 
identifying a killer.  (Note: Administration organizations on 
the provincial and district level are the equivalent of city 
councils; they control significant resources and have a big 
impact on local development. These officials are often 
embroiled in local disputes.  End note.) The killing prompted 
a PPP spokesman to ask the government to launch an 
investigation and ensure the safety of candidates. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: Politically-motivated violence is not rare 
in Thailand -- ten political canvassers were killed before 
the 2005 elections in possibly election-related violence, and 
local administration officials have been killed in recent 
years as well.  A TRT former MP was the victim of a 
professional killing in mid-2006 in central Thailand. Few of 
these cases were resolved.  Police in general have better 
luck in catching and prosecuting the hired guns than they do 
the alleged planners of the crimes.  This case is receiving 
very high level attention, but, based on the police track 
record, we are not optimistic that they will identify and 
successfully prosecute the perpetrators, much less the 
organizers.  End comment. 
BOYCE