Nine members of tiny parties win ballots
Nine members of tiny political parties look set to become MPs after the second round of voting on Sunday, despite being criticised as "decorative" opponents designed to enable Thai Rak Thai Party candidates to avoid the requirement of needing to win 20 per cent of votes.
Some of them talked to The Nation about their political activities.
Abdulkadir Jeh-useng, Narathiwat's Constituency 1, the Khonkhoplodnee Party (People's Party for Debt Forgiveness). "I was confident I would win because voters wanted to end the political vacuum. They need someone to solve the violence in the South. More than half of the votes I got are from voters who don't want Thai Rak Thai or the Democrats," he said. Abdulkadir denied his party was made up of Thai Rak Thai nominee candidates, saying he was one of the Khonkhoplodnee Party's founders and spent his own money to campaign.
Sopon Suapan, Krabi's Constituency 2, the Palang Dharma Party. Sopon, 55, is a former director of the Don Muang Technical College. He said he wanted to be an opposition MP to counter the government, so he registered as a candidate in his hometown. "I'm still excited and proud to win the highest vote. I want to argue with people who think I was a 'decorative' candidate. If I really was that I would have stayed at home after registration and would have never campaigned for the election," he said. As a first-time winner, however, Sopon disagreed with caretaker premier Thaksin Shinawatra's idea to dissolve the House after a new round of political reform. "The new PM shouldn't follow Thaksin's idea. I think the Parliament's term should depend on the people," he said.
Pleung Buasri, Phatthalung's Constituency 3, the Khonkhoplodnee Party. After missing out in three previous polls, Pleung said he had triumphed in Sunday's election because it was a chance for small parties to win. "I think farmers and voters who don't like the Thai Rak Thai candidates voted for me," he said. As one of the three advisers for the Farmers' Debt Network of Thailand, Pleung led farmers to protest against the government about their debts 63 times over the past six years. "That was how people came to know about me, as I always fight for the poor."
Pornjanat Srirattananun, Phetchaburi's Constituency 1, the Khonkhoplodnee Party. Pornjanat was in the spotlight after defeating Thai Rak Thai's Rajasak Klaiklueng - a friend of Thaksin's son Panthongtae - by nearly 7,000 votes. Before last Sunday's election, voters in the province knew very little about her and she was considered an underdog candidate. "I'm delighted to win the election. I want to say thank you to all voters," she said.
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