Thailand Votes 2011

Campaign Motorcade- Thai Style

Well we are in the middle of an election. And today is voting day. If nothing else, Thai politics can be somewhat confusing and outcomes somewhat even more confusing. On July 3rd the people will go to the polls. And this is very different than any other country I have been in when a general election is underway.

You would need a multi paged primer to be able to be up to speed on the history, the current situation, and the intrigue that is involved, and now the soap opera quality to the campaign. The Bangkok Post and the Nation newspapers are must reads to be up to speed.

There are 375 constituencies or electoral ridings/boundaries;
There are 4 main parties, fielding 125 candidates each
There are an additional 29 other parties fielding candidates numbering from 1 -125;
There are 53.5 Million ballots being printed.

Approximately 200 candidates have specifically requested and are getting police protection. There have been killings that are being associated to the elections, with gunning down of candidates or campaign workers. There are 150,000 police on duty today to provide polling station security through-out the country.
As in every election everywhere in the world, the politicians have been busy making promises and out promisig their opponents. The promise to rasie the daily minimum wage to 300 Baht ($10CDN) has been countered up to 500 Baht ($15.50) per day.
One party promises to provide a free notebook PC to every child and free WiFi. It is countered with the other party offering more schools and teachers.
One party has no budget balancing program, but many costly promises including raising the monthly living allowance for seniors to 500 Baht ($15.50CDN).
Farmers are being promised credit cards to buy farming supplies and it goes on.
A recent commentary piece in the Bangkok Post has some economists as saying that the best case scenario is that with all of the promises, this is one time, you hope they don't carry them all out.

Then there is the case of the exiled fugitive Prime Minister, ousted in 2006, fled the country , was tried and sentenced in absentia, and all of his assets were siezed. His sister is now the leader of a political party (his had been disolved and outlawed), and he is interjecting himself into the election. A recent BBC interview with the current explored an early promise in the campaign his sister to issue a law to erase previous convictions, which would of course include her brother. The commitment and public reference to this promise seems to have become more muted as the election has gone on. But her brother has been announcing his intent to return here following the election, and so speculation is rife about what that may mean to the political situation here.

Meanwhile the other parties are jostling and alligning themselves for who they will or will not form a coallition with.

Then add to the mix the involvement or non-involvement of the military. One party claims the current Prime Minister is in power because of the military (which he denies). The Military deny any involvement in the election or intent to formulate a coupe if any particular party wins or does not win, and that they give no direction to their members about voting.

Endless parades of motorcades are visible everyday with loud speakers promoting their parties or encouraging people to get out to vote. We had a laugh the other day, as the motorcade pictured at the start of this entry is pretty standard fare. We are also watching a TV series set in Seattle, called "the Killing" with one of the campaign cars involved in a murder investigation. We compared the "car" in the Seattle story, typical large,tinted windows, and black, to the procession of campaign vehicles here.

Last weekend they held the advance and away polls. People living for example here in Phuket, but their home riding is perhaps somewhere like Nong Kai, can vote and have the ballot transported to Nong Kai for collection and counting. In a similar manner that Canadian military personnel can vote in their "home" ridings. The big surprise for us, was that when the voting takes place there is a 30 hour alcohol ban in effect. So for last weekend, and again today. The bars and selling of alcohol stopped at 6PM last night and will not be open until after midnight tonight. There is a visible compliance, and even police presence, even at a store where it is often possible to buy alcohol outside the official selling hours on a regular day. Even my beloved Baby Shop is closed! The rumbling on the street is that th epolls close at 3PM so why can you not get alcohol until after midnight. Personally I have no problem with the law, and I am sure a good 30 hour dry-out for some would be a positive thing.

This morning the lines have begun to form outside the voting stations, with some visibly long line-ups. Similar to Canada, polling stations are found at schools and community centers. I even saw one set up under a large outdoor tent, with the walls removed.  The difference is that unlike Canada with the rules about election campaign material within a specific distance to a polling station, here you can't get to the polling station without seeing many posters and banners. It is clear that there will be a very large voter turnout. I recall being in Kosovo a few years ago and was there for the lead up to the first elections. The ambivalence to voting, seemed to echo what I had experienced in Canada. Somehow here, the sense of obligation and commitment to vote is very high. It is refreshing to see that where democracy is described as fragile, there is a drive to vote and where there is a democracy, most cannot be bothered to exercise their right.

There are international observers here and they are reporting that they are impressed with the voting process and campaigning, in forms of transparency and openness. The election coverage in the world media is heavy today, as the election is seen as critical to Thailand, which many define as a fragile democracy.

We have been out and about over the past 24 hours and notice clearly a different feel to things. Last night we went to a dry BBQ party in Patong and it was strange to see Bangla Road all but deserted and in mostly darkness. I am so used to seeing it lighted up like daylight, blasting music and throngs or tourists and touts. Today I had to try and find somewhere to get my motorbike tire fixed, as i had gotten a flat on our way back home last night. Normally anything you want to get is available here in many places and at most times of the day or night. It took a bit of travel today to find a tire shop open. It is very quiet, not much traffic on the roads, no sounds of construction, just the birds, breeze through the rubber tree plantation and a truly lazy Sunday. We will see what it all looks like at this time tomorrow after the results are done.