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Published on January 25, 2008

Economist Anusorn Tamajai and consumer activist Rosana Tositrakul registered yesterday to contest the Senate election for Bangkok.

Anusorn, dean of Rangsit University's economics faculty, said after being allotted candidate number 6 for the election that he was ready to serve the country in a political role.

A former student activist, Anusorn took part in many pro-democracy campaigns before going to the United States for further education. He served as an economist at several banks, including Citibank and BankThai, before entering the field of education. He has been a sharp commentator on Thai economic policies for years.

Rosana said she decided to run for the Senate again because of her supporters. "People asked me to run because they said they had no choices," she said.

Rosana was cleared to contest the election by the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday after complaining last week that it had failed to clearly outline the qualifications for candidates. She wanted to know whether her positions on the board of MCOT and a law-reform committee would represent a conflict.

Rosana received 118,332 votes in the Senate election last April - the fourth highest tally among candidates from Bangkok. However, her election and that of the other winners was never endorsed and their status of senators elect was nullified by the junta that staged a coup in September.

Meanwhile, EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond said after a meeting on the Senate election yesterday that overseas balloting would be held from February 11-24 and advance balloting on February 23-24. The budget for the election was expected to be about Bt2.1 billion.

Fellow commissioner Praphan Naikowit said the EC was concerned the voter turnout might be lower than expected. "It is not easy to get 70 per cent to cast their vote. We have to have public relations to encourage people," he said.

The Nation