Inflation hits the price of a vote!

[Flashermac]

Bangkok Post

29 Jun 2011

 

 

The fierce race to claim victory at the polls has resulted in more rampant vote buying nationwide, with the average price of vote buying in central provinces higher than in other regions, a survey has revealed.

 

Sukhum Chaloeysap, director of the Suan Dusit Poll by the Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, has revealed the results of the survey the pollster had conducted to assess the vote buying situation.

 

The vote buying problem was far worse than in the previous elections, Mr Sukhum said.

 

This time, vote buying was divided into three phases including a period before the candidate registration, during the official election campaign after the election registration, and in the final leg of the race, he said.

 

In the first phase, vote buying was aimed purely at boosting the popularity of the political parties and the average price of such vote buying was 300 baht per voter per candidate, Mr Sukhum said.

 

In the second phase, the vote buying price was on average 200 baht per voter per candidate, he said.

 

[color:red]The vote buying competition had become far more intense in this third phase when the price started from 500 baht and currently the average price per voter per candidate had risen to 1,500 baht in the central region constituencies, Mr Sukhum said.[/color]

 

The vote buying prices in the North, Northeast, and South were all lower than the Central region, he said.

 

The vote buying price in these areas started at 300 baht per voter per candidate, he said, adding that the current average price of vote buying in these regions was 1,200 baht.

 

[color:red]The highest price reported in one constituency in the Northeast was as high as 1,700 baht per voter per candidate, but that was a rare case, he said.[/color]

 

"The price was particularly high in a constituency where candidates from a small party were struggling hard to win over a leading candidate from a large party," Mr Sukhum said. In the South, the most serious vote buying situation appeared to be in the three southern most provinces, he said.

 

Even in some specific areas, such as Chon Buri that had been for a long time dominated by winning candidates from a political group run by fugitive Somchai Khunplome, alias kamnan Poh, the power of vote buying money had begun to weave its magic, said Mr Sukhum.

 

Meanwhile, Election Commissioner Sodsri Satayathum challenged Mr Sukhum to disclose the sources of information obtained by the Suan Dusit Poll if the poll results were to believed.

 

She said she had sent some officers to ask him in person about the evidence of the vote buying mentioned in the survey, but Mr Sukhum simply did not answer their questions and appeared frustrated by it.

 

 

 

True democracy is expensive!