Democrats may choose not to field candidates in by-elections

The source explained that the Democrat leaders believe they might be considered “betrayers” if they decided to field candidates at the by-elections. He was referring to a remark made by former Democrat leader Banyat Bantadtan at a party meeting on Tuesday.
Banyat had said Suthep and other party members should step down to prove that they are standing alongside the public in its fight against the government. He said the protest leaders also wanted to win the “game” within this month, the source said.
“The Democrat Party does not need more seats in the House of Representatives to win. We now have 152 MPs, which is enough for filing a censure motion against the Yingluck Shinawatra government,” he said.
Some party members believe that this is a good opportunity for the Democrats to test the waters in terms of popularity. This should prove whether they still have strong support, especially among Bangkokians. Banyat also suggested that the MPs who have stepped down should be allowed to choose their replacements.
Meanwhile, the source pointed out that if the House is dissolved before the by-elections are held, voters might get confused between candidates running in the by-elections and those running in the general election.
The Election Commission yesterday has scheduled December 22 as the by-election date for the eight constituencies.
Separately, chief opposition whip Jurin Laksanawisit said the Democrats would file for a censure motion against the government next week, adding that all members of the party had already signed up for it.
Jurin said the resignations of the nine MPs would not affect the party’s plan to censure the government. “However, we are waiting for suitable timing, and are collecting more information and documents to debate,” he said.
When asked whether the Democrats would evaluate the situation first, as the House cannot be dissolved if a censure motion is filed, he said the party has yet to decide if the motion would be filed against ministers alone, instead of against the PM as well. He said if the motion was filed only against ministers, Yingluck would have the option of dissolving the House.
Alongkorn Ponlaboot, deputy Democrat leader, said Yingluck had very little time left to prove herself now that her government has created such political turmoil. “She should dissolve the House before the Democrat MPs submit a censure motion. Of course, the best thing would be for the government to step down,” he said.