Thailand launches last-ditch efforts for general election
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Xinhua, July 3, 2011
Thailand's political parties on Saturday commenced their last-ditch efforts for the general election, which is schedule to begin on July 3.
The polls will start at 8.00 a.m. and close at 3.00 p.m. on Sunday. Any campaigning activities will have to stop by 6.00 p.m. on Saturday.
This will be the country's first general election after years of political unrest after the king endorsed the dissolution of the House of Representatives on May 9.
The top Pheu Thai Party (PTP) list candidate for the premiership, Yingluck Shinawatra, youngest sister of Thailand's ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, started the last day of the campaign on a motorcade along the major roads and landmarks in Bangkok, including the Victory Monument, Ratchawat, Tao Poon, and Chatuchak weekend market.
She expressed confidence that the Pheu Thai Party would win over 250 seats from a total of 500 seats which are up for grabs. Yingluck said she hopes the polls would be "free, fair and transparent" so that the international community would accept the general election's results.
She believed that the voters would give her and the Pheu Thai Party an opportunity to work for the country, as she had seen during 40 days of campaigning to clarify the party's platform and policy, that the public had given her warm welcome, according to local media reports.
However, she said it was too early to talk about forming the new government as it has to wait for the Election Commission (EC) to officially verify the poll result.
"It's better to wait until the election commission officially announces the election's results. After that I can say which parties will be invited to take part in forming the new administration, if our party wins in the polls," she said.
She also affirmed that her brother Thaksin has nothing to do with the Pheu Thai as the party has an administrative team to run and make decisions.
Founded in September 2008, the Pheu Thai Party has yet experienced a general election and has served as the main opposition party with the elite-backed Democrat Party ruling the government. The party is expected to gain large support from the populous northeastern provinces and the north, which have been Thaksin's stronghold.
The Phue Thai Party is also known to be closely affiliated with the anti-establishment "Red-Shirts." The violent confrontation between the "Red Shirts" protestors and the military killed 91 people and injured over 2,000 others from March 12 to May 19 last year.
For the sake of reconciliation, Yingluck proposed the general amnesty as one of the campaign policies, which her party claimed would reach out to all political colors and disregarded everything that has taken place since the coup in 2006.
However, critics from her main opponent, the Democrats, said this law was designed for whitewashing Thaksin. At its core, the amnesty law aims to clear Thaksin of any wrongdoing, overturn the prison sentence and pave the way for his return.
Thaksin was ousted by a military coup on Sept. 19, 2006 on charges of corruption and undermining democratic institutions. In February 2010, the Supreme Court convicted him in absentia for profiteering from his time in office, and confiscated 46 billion baht (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) in family assets.
Also on Saturday, incumbent Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, as Democrat Party leader, along with leading party members, commenced a final Democrat poll campaign near Sanam Luang, an open field and public square in front of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, Bangkok, releasing seven groups of motorcades to campaign around the capital city.
He urged the voters to exercise their rights and make a decisive choice between the Democrat and Pheu Thai parties. He said that he was confident that his party would win in Sunday's election and has legitimacy to form the next government. He called on voters nationwide to turn out in force to make their decision on which direction they wish the country to move forward to.
"Thai people want the country to move forward after the election without any more political conflicts and social division problems," he said.
He also called on all parties to accept the election's results.
As Thailand's oldest party, the Democrat Party has mainly drawn support of Bangkok's educated middle-classes and southern Thailand -- the Democrat Party's power base.
Ahead of the general election in Thailand, UN chief Ban Ki-moon expressed his hope on June 30 that the elections could be held in a "fair, credible and transparent" manner so as to contribute to reconciliation and the consolidation of democratic norms in the country.
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