Democrats take their time over candidates
The Democrat Party has postponed the selection of candidates to contest the next general election so it has more time to welcome and train new, younger members, a party spokesman said yesterday.
The Election Commission has tentatively scheduled the next polls for October 22. Theptai Senpong said even though the period before the ballot exceeds 90 days - and thus allows MPs or members to shift parties before candidacy registration - the Democrats did not expect many members of other political parties to join their ranks. Instead, the party was aiming at grooming new faces and a younger generation of candidates, he said. The party will launch a project called "Tonkla Prachathipat, Tonkla Prachathipatai" (Democrat Saplings, Democratic Saplings) to train and pass on the party's ideology to newcomers, the spokesman said at a press conference at party headquarters. Theptai said the party's candidate-selection committee, headed by senior adviser and former party leader Banyat Bantadtan, had decided to postpone the selection of MP candidates. It would give priority to selecting candidates for the Bangkok City Council election in July, as it precedes the general election, he said. The spokesman said the Democrats had no problem with the election date but wanted the Election Commissioners to be replaced.
Kornchanok Raksaseri The Nation
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