US ambassador dismisses claims of interference in Thailand’s elections that were won by reformists

By DAVID RISING
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Thailand has dismissed claims of American interference in recent elections as a “disservice” to the Thai people. Ambassador Robert Godec said on Tuesday that Washington does not support any individual candidate or political party. Claims of the U.S. meddling in the May 14 election have swirled since the opposition Move Forward Party emerged as the top vote getter and another opposition party came in second, raising the possibility of a new coalition government that could take power from Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. The Move Forward Party is seen as nominally more pro-American than Prayuth but Godec said “the United States has no preferred candidate, we have no preferred political party.”