The Chart Pattana Party is gearing up for the upcoming Sunday’s general election despite the fact that some of their candidates failed to register for the race due to a series of blockades by anti-government protesters.
The Chart Pattana Party, which intended to field candidates in 28 constituencies, has already sought the ruling of the Supreme Court’s Election Division over the issue.
This year, two sport superstars are set to run under the banner of the Chart Pattana Party. Former Thai tennis icon Paradorn Srichaphan and taekwando ace Yaowapa Boorapolchai have joined the party to run in Sunday’s race.
Paradorn’s decision to change his career track has drawn a considerable amount of attention as he prepares to run for a seat in central Bangkok’s Din Daeng and Phayathai constituencies. Paradon, the 34-year-old tennis star who was forced by wrist injury to retire in 2010, won five ATP titles, and once stood ninth in the global rankings.
Party executives have earlier commented on the controversy regarding the current general election, saying that the election will be the way to move the country, now deeply in turmoil, forward. Their slogan is expressly in support of political reforms and deeper transparency.
Party leader Wannarat Channukul said the ongoing political tension and violence have eroded investor confidence and impacted the country’s economic growth. He urged all sides to avoid the use of force and to resolve the conflicts in a peaceful manner. He also voiced support for dialogues between all parties involved in the political deadlock.
The Chart Pattana Party was initially founded under the name of Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana as a result of the merger of the Thais United and the former National Development Parties in September 2007. In 2011, the Ruam Jai Chart Pattana Party merged again with the Puea Pandin Party, and changed its name to Chart Pattana Puea Pandin.
After the 2011 general elections, which saw Pheu Thai winning in a landslide victory, the party and three other minor parties agreed to form a coalition government under the leadership of Yingluck Shinawatra. Later in 2011, the party name was again simplified to its current version.
