The election result doesn’t matter, but lock up your opponents

That’s what Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva seems to be saying in an interview for the Bangkok Post. He states that it is vote for the coalition partners or the result won’t be accepted.

Abhisit claims that the initial statement by a Puea Thai Party member that an amnesty will be considered if the party wins the upcoming election is essentially unacceptable. He says unacceptable to “the public” but he means to yellow-shirted supporters of the current regime. In other words, if the electorate chooses Puea Thai, then Abhisit promises rallies, protests and divisiveness. He blames the Puea Thai Party, but his is a threat of yet one more overturning of an election result.

PPT imagines that Abhisit has his yellow hand clappers ready.

Meanwhile, a year after the crushing of the red shirt rebellion in May 2010, some 130 red shirts remain locked up. A more recent detainee is red shirt leader Jatuporn Promphan.

As we noted in an earlier post, Jatuporn many in the current regime have him on a par with Thaksin Shinawatra when it comes to personal hatred.

The Nation reports that “Jatuporn remained under detention as the Criminal Court yesterday rejected a petition for him to leave prison temporarily to attend the EC to submit his name as a candidate. However, the EC allowed the party to do it for him.” It is added: “Analysts believe Jatuporn will stay in prison until the election.”

The Democrat Party and its backers probably think that they get an advantage by having the fiery orator locked up. And, it isn’t the first time. In earlier by-elections a red shirt leader had to campaign from prison, and lost. The Democrat Party desperately wants to have an electoral mandate, even if they have Plan B (see above), and they seem willing to do anything to get it.

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