Poll number plan slammed

A CONSTITUTION Drafting Commission (CDC) plan for election candidates to have their own number at the ballot box will not only create confusion among voters but ultimately degrade the political party system’s significance, critics have warned.
The approach, under the draft organic law on the election of MPs, will abolish the past voting practice adopted two decades ago in which all candidates in a political party had the same candidacy number nationwide.

The new CDC plan has caused concern among politicians and academics.
Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee, a political science lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, said the new practice would tend to obligate voters to concentrate more on individual candidates rather than their parties, given that a party would no longer have a fixed vote number for all of its candidates.
With each party being represented by different numbers in constituencies, the Election Commission would be more burdened in calculating vote counts for each party, Siripan said.
According to the new mixed member apportionment system, votes would also have to be formulated to find proportions for party-list MPs, given that voters would be given only one ballot, allowing them to cast a single vote only for a constituency MP candidate. Siripans said that would erode the role of political parties.
“This may be created out of fear of political parties’ influence, which it has to be managed even to this logistical level,” she said.
Former election commissioner Sodsri Sattayatham said the CDC proposal would scatter the public’s attention regarding political parties, which would eventually obstruct parties from working together in Parliament. 
“This will prevent Parliament from creating a one-party government, which follows the charter’s will,” Sodsri said. “But it should be noted that MPs could be elected out of people’s misunderstanding.”
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said that while the one-party-one-number system could emphasise party platforms, the use of different numbers still would not reflect the constitutional intent to emphasise the roles of individual MPs.
Abhisit suggested that the best method would be to eliminate numbers from the voting system and use only candidate names and party logos. Getting rid of numbers would also help to prevent vote-buying targeting people who are uninterested in politics, he added.
Key Chart Thai Pattana Party figure Warawut Silpa-archa, who said he disagreed with the new plan because it was confusing, suggested that the CDC should abolish party-list MPs if they are concerned about political parties’ influence.
That make all MPs constituency-based, Warawut said, which would mean that more constituencies would have to be created.
“More constituencies in the country also means smaller constituencies, enabling MPs to take more care of local people,” he said. “This should better reflect the constitutional will to put importance on each MP, more so than what the CDC is now planning.”
Prajak Klaewklaharn, Bhum Jai Thai Party’s deputy leader, agreed that the different numbers would confuse local voters. “But we can only comply with it if it is enforced,” Prajak said.
CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan said the new system had been developed to make the individual candidate matter as much as the party during elections.
He added that the approach under the draft organic law on the election of MPs could also prevent vote-buying across the country.
The approach would put an end to the saying that “some parties could field a power pole and still win” in areas where they had a strong base, which was an insult to voters, Meechai said.
“If all constituency candidates share the same number, not only will there be a higher chance of fraud but also voters will not give importance to individual candidates. As a result, candidates will feel as if they are the party’s servants,” Meechai said. “The intention actually is to ensure the MPs are competent, in parallel with the party’s popularity.”
In response to an argument that the new approach could confuse voters, Meechai said people were not illiterate or lacking in understanding of politics. At least, they should be able to recognise the candidates and their affiliations in addition to learning about them prior to the vote, he said.
“It is not right to underestimate them. They can still see the campaign banner and recognise the faces and the names of the candidates anywhere, anytime, even in front of the polling station,” the CDC chairman said. “People have changed a lot. It is not like 30 or 40 years ago when people were illiterate. So, in an election, they have to be aware who they are voting for or have to be enthusiastic.”
The veteran charter writer also denied the argument that the plan could undermine parties’ significance. Supporting political parties did not mean the CDC had to leave a loophole for vote-buying, he said.
However, Meechai also said people having different views could submit opinions to the CDC for consideration.
Chartchai Na Chiangmai, a CDC spokesman, said the unique numbers were intended also to make candidates become more active in the process. 
They would have to draw lots or sign up themselves in order to get a number, he said, unlike previously when that was done by the parties.