Newin's group won't vote for any 'PPP' names

Newin Chidchob's faction said yesterday that it would not vote for any names put forward by the now-defunct People Power Party (PPP) for the prime minister's post, and that its members reserved the right to support their own candidate.

The faction also said that its 37 members had yet to decide which party they would go under, though they still had 60 days to decide.

"We haven't yet decided which party we will join. The only condition we have is that the next PM should not bring any more conflicts to the country," Cherdchai Wichienwan, a former PPP MP from Udon Thani, said after attending a meeting chaired by Newin to evaluate the political situation.

He said the group would not join the Puea Thai Party, a reincarnation of the disbanded PPP, if it put forward any nominees as the next PM. Newin's group is regarded as a crucial factor in the formation of the next government.

It was reported that coalition partners, as well as the Newin faction along with MPs from small and medium parties, had looked into the possibility of endorsing Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana leader General Chetta Thanajaro.

He is considered to be less controversial than Puea Thai's top candidate Chalerm Yoobamrung, his military background gives him more clout than the other Puea Thai candidate Mingkwan Sangsuwan - and he has kept a distance from ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra. Moreover, his nomination is unlikely to bring the People's Alliance for Democracy back to the streets.

However, many key figures in the Puea Thai Party are against the idea of offering the country's top seat to a candidate from a smaller coalition party, a party source said. The source added that though politicians were insistent that the new prime minister come from Puea Thai, Yaowapa, wife of ex-PM Somchai Wongsawat, along with a key PPP figure, had said they were "in principle" okay with the idea of nominees from small coalition partners.

Besides, the source said the new prime minister was only expected to be in office for about two months before he had to dissolve the House of Representatives.

However, a source from the Newin faction said if the group's plan to push Chetta through were met with opposition, they had the choice of taking other coalition partners along and joining a Democrat-led government.

A member of the Newin faction, Boonjong Wongtrirat - a former PPP MP from Nakhon Ratchasima - said the new PM would have to be someone who could restore confidence among both Thais and the international community. In addition, he must be a person who does not put the country's democracy at risk or make it divisive.

"We will exercise our right to vote [for the next PM] to maintain the parliamentary system and bring back order to our country," he said, adding that the group would be unified in their choice.

On Tuesday, the Constitution Court issued a stunning verdict disbanding the three main coalition parties - the PPP, Chart Thai and Matchima Thipataya - and banned their executives from the electoral process for five years. Now, surviving members of the defunct |parties have 60 days to find a new banner.

Some sources said Newin was being careful because even though MPs from dissolved parties were allowed to find a new home, it was not clear if they could join a party that had never contested in an election or been represented in Parliament.

The Newin faction is reportedly set to join the Bhumijai Thai Party, set up as an arm of the now-dissolved Matchima Thipataya Party. About 30 members of the Newin faction have asked for the party's application form.

Meanwhile, four MPs from the faction yesterday applied to join Puea Thai, though they claimed they were not really "true, blue" members of the Newin group.