Let the race begin
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Let the race begin

ABOUT POLITICS: A large field is contesting the upcoming Bangkok governor poll making picking a winner anyone's guess v A supposedly light-hearted phone call could spell the downfall of lottery ticket price crusader Seksakol Atthawong

Aswin: Quiet campaign so far
Aswin: Quiet campaign so far

The Bangkok governor race is officially on with the unveiling of candidates who promise to make the May 22 election the most colourful and nail-biting poll in decades.

The last high-profile candidate to announce his bid to run for office before candidacy registration was opened on March 31 was former Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang. Registration has since ended with 31 candidates entering the race.

For weeks, Pol Gen Aswin's lips were sealed about whether he would run. It was not long before the candidacy registration began that he tendered his resignation as governor and declared he was seeking a second term.

It would be incorrect to call it an attempt to seek re-election since he was not elected in the first place. The governorship was handed to him on a plate by the now-defunct coup engineer, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), which appointed him Bangkok governor on Oct 18, 2016, two years after the coup that ousted the Pheu Thai-led administration.

The coup-maker put local elections on the backburner for years out of concern poll campaigning would ignite clashes between political cliques, which could fuel political unrest. Local elections, including the governor poll, remained suspended for seven years after the 2014 coup.

It was not until last year that local elections were revived, starting with the tambon administrative organisation chairs and members and the provincial administrative organisation heads and their members.

The two last polls to be called before the government's term expires in March next year are the elections of Bangkok governor and city councillors as well as the Pattaya City mayor and local government members.

One by one, well-known figures threw their names into the hat. Among the first was Chadchart Sittipunt who, after some initial hesitation, said he would run as an independent in the Bangkok governor poll.

However, he has distanced himself from the Pheu Thai Party under which he served as transport minister with Yingluck Shinawatra as premier. Questions were being asked as to how detached he would be from the party that handed him the ministerial role in charge of the A-grade ministry.

Other prominent hopefuls are the Democrat Party's Suchatvee Suwansawat, the Move Forward Party's Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, the Thai Sang Thai Party's Sqn Ldr Sita Divari, and independent candidates: Sakoltee Phattiyakul, Pol Gen Aswin and Rosana Tositrakul.

Observers are already betting on who will score more votes between Mr Sakoltee and Pol Gen Aswin, who was Mr Sakoltee's former boss, although several experts have not given encouraging analyses on the two men's chances of winning the May 22 poll.

Both will talk up the achievements from their time managing City Hall. Many of these will be shared.

While Mr Sakoltee has insisted, for example, that the crackdown on motorcycles being ridden on pavements and a project to combine inter-mode mass transport systems has his signature on them, these may be claimed as policies initiated by the man in charge -- Pol Gen Aswin.

Mr Sakoltee has been advocating for a more comprehensive mass-transit system served by seamless interchanges between rail and boat. Such was the project he started when he was deputy Bangkok governor, and which he vowed to expand if he was elected governor.

At a recent environmental engineering forum, Mr Sakoltee seized the opportunity to impress the audience with the suggestion that the next governor be entrepreneurial by offering concessions to private firms to dispose of the city's waste.

This way, the rubbish would be more effectively dealt with and City Hall would generate some revenue.

The observers said that while Mr Sakoltee was active in showcasing his vision, his former boss has been far less active in selling his campaign policies at public forums.

After launching his campaign under the slogan Krungthep Tong Pai Tor (Bangkok Move Ahead) in Klong San district last week, he has kept rather quiet.

Other candidates, especially Mr Chadchart and Mr Suchatvee, enjoyed an early start and are believed to have struck a chord with their traditional voter base -- Mr Chadchart with the Pheu Thai crowds as well as some young voters and Mr Suchatvee with the Democrat faithful as well as Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) fans since the ruling party has not fielded a candidate.

Last year, Pol Gen Aswin was reported to have been given the PPRP's blessing to stand in the gubernatorial election and speculation went so far as to suggest the former governor may run on the PPRP's ticket.

However, this did not materialise, leaving Pol Gen Aswin deep in thought about his political future.

Not getting the joke

Seksakol Atthawong, a close aide to the prime minister, set out to combat lottery ticket overpricing in the strongest way possible, raiding three major online lottery dealers for allegedly driving up ticket prices.

Seksakol: Claims clip 'doctored'

Seksakol: Claims clip 'doctored'

But this auspicious start has been overshadowed by the release of an audio clip of a conversation between him and Jureeporn Sinthuprai, a member of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), concerning lottery quotas, according to political observers.

Mr Seksakol came out to admit he had the conversation with Ms Jureeporn, in which he said they merely shared some jokes. He insisted there was nothing out of the ordinary for two people who have known each other for years to have a light-hearted chat over the phone.

However, he claimed the conversation was longer than what was released on social media. Parts of it had also been doctored to discredit him, he added.

In the clip posted on Facebook by a lawyer, Sittha Biabangkerd, a man was heard telling a woman he took 15 million baht from another person and used it to finance an election campaign. The man said he had no clue the person who lent him the money had something to do with lottery quotas.

The problem was that police working on solving overpriced lotteries were going to arrest that person and, if that happened, the person could expose Mr Seksakol for taking his money. The woman agreed to borrow money from another source for him to repay the 15-million-baht debt. The man was then heard promising to take care of lottery quotas for the new lender in exchange for the favour.

However, many who listened to the conversation, whether it was a joke or not, felt disturbed by the clip and demanded a probe into Mr Seksakol's conduct -- past and present.

Some are wondering whether or not Mr Seksakol has violated the organic law on the election of members of parliament, citing the election campaign spending limit for election candidates.

A political party was allowed to spend a maximum of 35 million baht on election campaigning and each candidate could spend at most 1.5 million for the same purpose. This is in reference to Mr Seksakol contesting but losing the 2019 election in Nakhon Ratchasima's Constituency 10 on the PPRP ticket.

He earlier quit the ruling party and joined Ruam Thai Sang Chart, a party which has pledged to nominate Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha as its sole prime ministerial candidate in the next election.

The conservation also casts doubt over Mr Seksakol's transparency in driving the government campaign to resolve the overpricing of lottery tickets, according to observers.

The PM's close aide serves as vice-chairman of a high-level government committee set up in January this year to address the problem of overpriced lottery tickets and also chairs a sub-committee investigating the issue.

Gen Prayut reacted to the clip by saying he has given Mr Seksakol the chance to work but will not spare him if he is found to have broken any laws.

While Gen Prayut has opted not to take any action for the time being, it does not mean Mr Seksakol is in the clear.

The House committee on corruption and misconduct prevention and suppression has also agreed to look at a petition submitted by Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, a former election commissioner and a member of the opposition Seri Ruam Thai Party.

Mr Somchai accuses Mr Seksakol of violating the organic law on the election of members of parliament, dereliction of duty and breaking the code of conduct of politicians.

The clip has caught attention of many political activists, including former senator Ruangkrai Leekitwattana.

Mr Ruangkrai is prepared to ask the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to look into Mr Seksakol's conduct and determine if he has violated the code of ethics for political office holders.

The Election Commission may also step in, according to observers, after its chairman, Ittiporn Boonpracong, pointed out that the poll agency can initiate a fact-finding inquiry when something fishy comes to its attention or a petition is lodged.

The former red-shirt leader is reportedly preparing Ruam Thai Sang Chart to support Gen Prayut's bid to return as premier in the next polls, regardless of whether the PPRP nominates Gen Prayut as its prime ministerial candidate or not.

So now it remains to be seen whether Mr Seksakol will be able to get out of trouble or just find himself deeper in it over the "joke" that he made.

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