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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40011899

A key candidate for the Bangkok gubernatorial election has come under fire over Bt342 million assets as an opposition MP on Wednesday summoned him before a House panel inquiry.

Move Forward Party MP Theerajchai Phanthumas said that Democrat candidate Suchatwee Suwannasawas needed to explain soon to the House panel on anti-corruption on details of 342 million baht. 

He and his wife had earlier declared only 44 million baht to the anti-graft agency, National Anti Corruption Commission, prior to taking the position of rector of the King Mongkuk Institute for Technology, Lat Krabang, 

Suchatwee was the rector of the King Mongkuk Institute for Technology, Lat Krabang for 6 years, before resigning to run for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration governorship under the Democrat Party banner late last year.
 
On December 29, 2021, the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission published the assets of Suchatwee 
 
He informed that he married with 2 children, both of them are underage. with assets of 141 million baht, including cash 100,000 baht, deposit 5.3 million baht, investment 19 million baht, land 32 million baht, houses and buildings 65 million baht, vehicles 2.8 million baht.

He reports that he has an estimated annual income of 18 million baht, a salary of 1.4 million baht, a position allowance of 5 million baht, meeting allowance and a bonus of 5.5 million baht, sales of books and copyrights 3.2 million baht, lecture and tutoring fees 3.5 million baht.
 
Mrs Suwita Suwansawat, spouse, is currently the Executive Chairman of MSC International Law Office Company Limited, has assets of 200 million baht, including houses and buildings 30 million baht. Vehicles 8.7 million baht. Other assets 95 million baht.

Published : February 03, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40011851

Former deputy prime minister and Chart Pattana Party advisory chairman Suwat Liptapanlop on Wednesday urged political parties to come up with policies to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on the economy so as to win over the confidence of citizens.

He said the preparation of candidates, the launch of new political parties and by-elections to evaluate popularity can be seen nowadays as many political parties have predicted that this is the last year for the government led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha which could lead to a general election.

“A by-election is a good idea as it enables political parties to improve themselves and acknowledge what citizens think about them,” he said.

He said he was not sure if Parliament could be dissolved in the middle of this year, but the government should improve its stability in order to restore the parliamentary mechanism to tackle the economic crisis.

“I think the ruling party and coalition parties should discuss this issue closely as every minute is precious for the economy and people’s happiness,” he said.

He added that it is for Prayut to decide on whether there should be a Cabinet reshuffle.

Suwat also believes that all political parties, including Chart Pattana Party, are ready for the general election.

“Many citizens would pay attention to each party’s economic policies during this election,” he added.

Published : February 02, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/in-focus/40011848

The two-day session of Parliament on February 17-18 will involve general discussions on key issues but without a resolution under Article 152 of the Opposition party’s motion.

Political parties came to this understanding after an hour of discussions on Wednesday.

A total of 30 hours have been allotted for the discussions — from 9.30am on February 17 to 12.30am on February 18, and from 9am on the second day until midnight. The opposition will speak for 22 hours, while the Cabinet will have eight hours to answer questions. If there is not enough time, they can extend the session. The opposition has vowed to manage time for MPs’ debate at 11 hours a day.

Niroth Soonthornka, the chairman of the government whip, said that the discussions would be beneficial for the government to get to know the flaws, giving the opposition full 22 hours. The government is confident that it will be able to clarify and answer all questions in eight hours, and thank the opposition for giving advice to the government for the benefit of the nation.

On the two days, the prime minister and all ministers will attend the debate. The discussions will revolve around questioning facts and suggesting guidelines for solving problems to the government.

The opposition is focused on four main issues: the economic crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and African swine fever, political crisis, and failed government administration

Published : February 02, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40011834

The Election Commission (EC) has sent a letter to election directors in 76 provinces and Bangkok on Wednesday asking them to start preparing their constituencies for the general election.

The EC has calculated the number of members of parliament (MPs) according to the amended 2021 Constitution. The EC has told its provincial and Bangkok offices to prepare to split electoral districts into three types after the laws related to the Constitution are approved and enforced.

The Ministry of Interior has counted Thailand’s population at 66,171,439 people, while there will be 400 constituency MPs. The average population per constituency MP is around 165,428.

According to 2017 population estimates, there will be 139 MPs in the Central region and Bangkok, 58 MPs in the Southern region, 71 MPs in the Northern region, and 132 MPs in the Northeastern region.

However, the number of MPs and electoral districts is decided according to the population in the year before an election.

If the current House of Representatives completes its four-year term, the election that will be held after June 24, 2023, and will use the population estimates of 2022 which the Ministry of Interior usually announces in January each year.

Related News

Cabinet ‘ready’ for opposition grilling on Feb 17-18

Buoyed by by-election victory, Pheu Thai leader urges Prayut to dissolve Parliament

Thamanat congratulates ‘enemy of his enemy’ Pheu Thai for its by-election victory

The EC has used the 2021 population to calculate the number of MPs and ordered each province to split electoral districts while the National Assembly is approving two related laws (General Election and Political Party). Once they are passed, the election could be held immediately. Observers see the possibility of Parliament being dissolved and an election being held in 2022, before the house completes its term.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda also announced preparations for election of Bangkok governor.

Published : February 02, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40011805

Cabinet ministers are ready to answer all questions from the opposition during the special debate in Parliament on February 17-18, the government said on Tuesday.

The debate stems from an opposition motion accusing the government of failing to combat rising living costs, the Covid-19 pandemic and the spread of African swine fever (ASF).

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is confident that ministers grilled by the opposition would offer satisfactory explanations to their questions, a government spokeswoman said.

Pheu Thai Party chief Cholnan Srikaew, the opposition leader, said the grilling will cover economic woes, the rising cost of living, public debt, the pandemic, the ASF outbreak, corruption, and environment and drug issues.

He said the opposition had demanded the urgent debate so that it could offer ideas on how to solve pressing problems facing the country.

Published : February 01, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40011753

A triumphant Surachart Thienthong of the Pheu Thai Party led a team to Lak Si and Chatuchak districts on Monday to thank citizens for his victory in the by-election for Bangkok’s Constituency 9 on Sunday.

Surachart, a former MP from the constituency, won an emphatic victory against the ruling party’s candidate.

Unofficial results after counting of ballots at all 280 polling stations at 8.30pm on Sunday showed Surachart winning comfortably, having polled 29,416 votes.

Move Forward Party candidate Krunphol Tiansuwan was second on 20,361 votes while Kla Party candidate Atavit Suwannapakdee came third on 20,047 votes.

Surachart said this victory came along with great responsibility to serve citizens, adding that he wanted to prioritise improving people’s quality of life.

He vowed to hear citizens’ complaints individually in order to deal with each issue properly.

“Once the Election Commission approves the by-election result, I am ready to work as an opposition MP to convey citizens’ complaints to the government,” he said.

He added that he hopes the government will pay more attention to citizens’ comments and interests.

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai Party leader Chonlanan Srikaew said this by-election had proved that citizens have witnessed the government’s mismanagement and want to pave the future for their children, even though the number of people exercising their right to vote was low.

He said other political parties are competitors but not enemies and they should focus on how they can serve the people and create good things under a democratic form of government with the King as head of state.

He declined to comment on a Facebook post by expelled former Palang Pracharath Party secretary-general, Thamanat Prompow, which said: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, only saying that anyone working with Pheu Thai Party must not side with dictatorship in line with the party’s vision.

He warned Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan that the by-election results are citizens’ punishment to show that they do not support undemocratic political parties, adding that Palang Pracharath Party’s MPs would be lower than 50 in the future.

He also asked Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha to dissolve Parliament and give the authority back to citizens to choose their next government.

“I will thank Prayut for his love for citizens if he dissolves Parliament,” he said. “It would be great if Prayut says he will remain in government no more than eight years which will end on August 3 this year.”

He added that Prayut should be concerned about the country and its citizens rather than his own position and the benefits to his team.

Published : January 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40011749

There is a possibility of Parliament being dissolved or a coup d’etat in the near future, as the country has changed a lot over the past three years, experts said during the “Voice of The Nation” programme on Monday.

The by-election results from Bangkok’s Constituency 9 on Sunday have proved that people have made their voices heard via the ballot box instead of holding demonstrations, said Voranai Vanijaka, the leader of Ruam Thai United Party.

Pheu Thai Party candidate Surachart Thienthong decisively won the by-election in Bangkok’s Constituency 9 on Sunday, trouncing the ruling party’s candidate.

According to unofficial results after the counting of ballots at all 280 polling stations, Surachart had won 29,416 votes, considerably more than Move Forward Party candidate Krunphol Tiansuwan who was second with 20,361 votes while Kla Party candidate Atavit Suwannapakdee came a close third with 20,047 votes.

“Thailand has changed a lot over the past three years due to anti-government protests, political struggles and a cultural revolution,” he said.

This by-election has shown that the people have lost faith in the ruling Palang Pracharath Party which can be seen from the party’s candidate Saranrat Jenjaka getting less than 10,000 votes.

He said this defeat could lead to further changes in Palang Pracharath. He, however, did not expect the government to dissolve Parliament soon.

“It is for the people to decide whether they want to move Thailand towards democracy or a dictatorship,” he added.

Charupol Ruangsuwan, a lecturer at Thammasat University’s Faculty of Political Science, said the Thai political situation has been swinging between the government coalition and the opposition parties over the past three years.

He said political moves, changing public sentiment, political campaigns and the candidates were behind the political swing.

“The public sentiment is swinging towards opposition parties as many people are bored with the current government,” he said.

He said anything could happen in Thai politics, as both the ruling coalition and the opposition parties have similar number of MPs in Parliament.

He advised people to keep an eye on the political situation because the tussle between the ruling coalition and the opposition parties was likely to intensify.

Nation Building Institute chairman Prof Dr Kriengsak Chareonwongsak said Bangkok’s Constituency 9 by-election results would reverberate in Thai politics as it pointed to a change in Bangkokians’ sentiment, especially that of young people.

He said Pheu Thai candidate Surachart Thienthong had won the by-election as he has closer ties with low-income people living in Lak Si district compared to Chatuchak district where medium- and high-income people live.

He advised people to closely follow the Bangkok governor election as whoever wins that election will determine the decision on the general election.

“Pheu Thai would gain an advantage in Parliament if Chadchart Sittipunt wins the upcoming Bangkok governor election, otherwise dissolution of Parliament could happen between August and October,” he said.

“If Parliament is dissolved, there is a 50 per cent chance that a coup d’etat would happen depending on the agreement between various sectors, especially powerful business tycoons and the junta.”

He added that people should be careful and ready to cope with the emerging situation.

Watch his interview clip with Voice of The Nation

Watch the full episode of Voice of The Nation

Published : January 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40011722

Former Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) secretary-general, Capt Thamanat Prompow, joined other parties in congratulating opposition leader Pheu Thai for its Bangkok by-election win.

Thamanat, who quit the ruling party under a cloud of acrimony, appeared to be satisfied with PPRP’s defeat and described Pheu Thai as the “enemy of my enemy”.

As soon as the initial vote count showed that Pheu Thai’s Surachart Thiangthong had won the Bangkok Constituency 9 by-election, Thamanat said in a Facebook post that he was happy to see voters exercising their ballot.

“This is democracy,” he said, add

ing “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” in English.

Before joining the PPRP, Thamanat was with Pheu Thai and was said to have been close to de facto leader Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thamanat and his faction of 20 MPs were expelled from the ruling party earlier this month for allegedly creating divisions and planning Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s ouster.

Election results

PPRP candidate Saranrat Jenjaka only garnered 7,906 votes against Surachart’s 29,416 ballots.

Kla Party leader and former finance minister Korn Chatikavanij congratulated Surachart for his resounding win and said this poll proved that Bangkokians want to see a change in Thai politics.

“The government should be able to read and understand this signal. It needs to show what it can do to help people when it’s in power,” Korn added.

Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat also congratulated Pheu Thai for its victory and thanked voters for the 20,3621 votes cast for his party’s candidate Krunphol Tiansuwan.

Nattawut Saikua, a former leader of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, also posted a message on Facebook congratulating Surachart and sending moral support to Krunphol.

“I would like to congratulate MP Surachart, one of my beloved younger politician friends for his graceful return,” Nattawut’s post read.

“I want to send moral support to Phet [Krunphol] … You’ve done your best.”

Former Democrat MP Thepthai Senpong also congratulated Surachart and Pheu Thai for winning the trust of residents in Constituency 9, which covers Lak Si and Chatuchak districts.

He said these results show that the anti-Prayut side has beat the pro-Prayut side and the ultra-leftist has beat the ultra-rightist.

“As I have said earlier, this by-election is a clear indicator of Prayut’s popularity,” he said.

Published : January 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40011720

Ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP)’s chief MP for Bangkok said the defeat in Sunday’s by-election will not affect the party’s plan to contest in the Bangkok gubernatorial race.

Chakkraphan Phonnimitr, chairman of the PPRP committee of Bangkok MPs, said on Sunday that each Bangkok election was different, so the party still has a chance to prove that it wants to serve Bangkokians.

PPRP candidate Saranrat Jenjaka received just 7,906 votes, compared to 29,416 won by Pheu Thai’s Surachart Thianthong.

Chakkraphan said he was sorry Saranrat lost, but added that the party will analyse the defeat and learn from it. He also thanked those who voted for the PPRP candidate.

“We believe Bangkokians still support us. We just have to discuss [a new strategy for] future elections,” Chakkraphan said.

“This will not affect the party’s plan to contest the Bangkok governor election. I believe Bangkokians will use different reasoning when voting for a new governor.”

The gubernatorial elections are expected to be held by mid this year. PPRP initially planned to field Pathum Thani governor Narongsak Osottanakorn but the plan was dropped when the governor said he had no ambition to run the capital. The party has yet to decide on a replacement.

Published : January 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40011711

Pheu Thai Party candidate Surachart Thienthong won the by-election in Bangkok’s Constituency 9 on Sunday, decisively beating the ruling party’s candidate.

According to unofficial results after the ballot count at all 280 polling stations at 8.30pm, Surachart won with 29,416 votes.

Move Forward Party candidate Krunphol Tiansuwan was second on 20,361 votes while Kla Party candidate Atavit Suwannapakdee came third on 20,047 votes.

Surachart declared victory at about 8.35pm and thanked voters for entrusting him to work for them in Parliament.

He said he was proud to be voted into Parliament. He added that although Parliament’s current session had little more than a year to run before the next general election, he would spend this time doing his best to serve residents of the constituency – both those who voted for him and those who did not. He said he would work for his constituents in and outside Parliament.

Surachart also thanked his election rivals and he said he felt honoured to run against them.

“I would like to thank brother Krunphol for being so friendly towards me,” Surachart said.

“Khun Atavit is also a well-rounded person and a politician who is qualified for this post.”

Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew told reporters that the victory showed that people had faith in the democratic camp and wanted to see the dictatorial camp leave power.

The ruling Palang Pracharath Party, which had owned the seat, conceded defeat even before Surachart declared victory. Its candidate Saranrat Jenjaka received only 7,906 votes. Her husband, Sira Jenjaka, was Constituency 9’s MP before his disqualification by the Constitutional Court led to the by-election.

Surachart is a veteran politician in this constituency, having lost it to Sira by just 2,000 votes at the March 2019 general election.

Pheu Thai’s victory secured another House seat for the opposition, reducing the already-slim majority of the Palang Pracharath-led coalition of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Although the opposition may not be able to muster enough votes to oust the government in the next no-confidence debate, observers saw Palang Pracharath’s defeat as a sign that voters are losing patience with the Prayut government. This could affect the outcome of the next national election when the term of the coalition expires in March next year.

That sign was highlighted by Kla Party leader Korn Chatikavanij as he congratulated Pheu Thai. Korn said the outcome showed that voters want to see a change in Thai politics, even though the Kla Party did not win.

Kla candidate Atavit thanked voters who had supported him. He said he received the highest number of votes in Chatuchak, his former constituency while Surachart was victorious in Lak Si district, his stronghold.

Atavit said the outcome showed that Bangkokians want to see a change in politics, adding the government should accept the message and work harder to solve people’s problems.

Assoc Dr Yutthaporn Isarachai, a lecturer at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, said Pheu Thai’s victory could be attributed to many factors, including the demography of the constituency.

But he said the polar-politics battle between the ruling Palang Pracharath and opposition-leading Pheu Thai also counted in the victory. He explained that Pheu Thai had urged voters to elect its candidate to fight against Prime Minister Prayut.

Yutthaporn predicted that defeat would spark more changes in Palang Pracharath. The party has just expelled a group of 21 MPs for dissension against Prayut. Yutthaporn believes Palang Pracharath will now be hit by more defections.

Constituency 9 comprises 167,287 eligible voters – 83,712 in Lak Si and 83,575 in Chatuchak district. A total of 122 polling stations were opened in Lak Si and 158 in Chatuchak. The voter turnout was 52.68 per cent.

Election Commission chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong told reporters that he was satisfied with the way the election was conducted and that there had been no complaints of irregularity or fraud at any polling stations.

Assistant national police chief Sarawut Karnphanit added that police had not received any reports of suspected voting fraud.

Earlier, Thung Song Hong police station received a complaint from a political party that a community leader had barred it from campaigning in the community. Sarawut said the complaint would be investigated and the results reported to the Election Commission.

Published : January 30, 2022

By : THE NATION