Former deputy PM Niwatthamrong loses national level Senate election
Former deputy prime minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongphaisan said he failed in the first round of the national level election for the Senate on Wednesday, but he had no regrets about contesting.
Niwatthamrong, a former deputy prime minister in the Yingluck Shinawatra government, said he had also cast a vote for himself like other candidates in the first round.
Niwatthamrong was caretaker prime minister after Yingluck was removed from office by the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2013.
Niwatthamrong said he used Line to introduce himself to other candidates in his professional group as the Line app was the most efficient way to introduce himself for support in a short time.
The Senate election was held in three levels – district, provincial and national – each of two rounds. In the first round of each level, candidates must cast two votes for candidates in their own professional group and they can vote for themselves. In the second round, they must cast votes for candidates outside their group. There are candidates from 20 professional groups in the contest.
Niwatthamrong declined to comment on the electoral system, saying that it was a new system which had to be tried out.
He said he did not know whether there was collusion or lobbies among other candidates and it would be the duty of the EC to investigate.
He said he had entered the fray because he considered himself still strong enough to work for the country.
