New vote on police chief weeks away

       Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will leave for the United States next weekend with the issue of a new national police chief likely to be left in the air.
       YOU’RE THE MAN: PM Abhisit Vejjajiva chats with acting national police chief Pol Gen Thani Somboonsap during a coffee stop at a petrol station in Maha Rat district in Ayutthaya. The pair were on their way back to Bangkok after a visit to Lop Buri.
       Permanent security for justice Kittipong Kitiyarak, who is one of 11 members of the board of the Royal Thai Police Office, returns from an overseas trip on Friday.
       This has led to speculation that Mr Abhisit may call a new meeting before he leaves for the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Saturday.
       Mr Abhisit will be in the US from Sept 20 to 27.
       But sources close to the prime minister said the prime minister was unlikely to finalise the choice for the new police leader before his departure for New York.
       The prime minister has not called a new board meeting since his choice of police inspector-general Pateep Tanprasert was voted down at the previous gathering on Aug 20.
       Although the prime minister has lobbied other members of the board to secure votes for Pol Gen Pateep, he will not set a new meeting date until his choice is guaranteed, the sources added.
       The prime minister also was trying to put an end to rumours that his supporters were defecting to vote for a rival candidate.
       Pol Gen Pateep's rival is deputy police chief Chumpol Manmai. The prime minister nominated only Pol Gen Pateep for the job last month.
       "The prime minister miscalculated the board's reaction. He wants to make sure the mistake will not happen again," a source close to him said.
       Sirichok Sopha, a Democrat MP for Songkhla who works closely with the prime minister, said Mr Abhisit's choice remained unchanged.
       The selection of the top police officer has to be made by the end of the month as acting national police chief Thani Somboonsap and incumbent police chief Patcharawat Wongsuwon will retire after Sept 30.
       Pol Gen Patcharawat was ordered to work at the PM's Office after the National Anti-Corruption Commission criticised his role in the crackdown on People's Alliance for Democracy protesters on Oct 7.
       As a result of the transfer, Pol Gen Thani will sit on the board instead of Pol Gen Patcharawat.
       The sources said Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul, another board member, would switch his choice for police chief from Pol Gen Chumpol to Pol Gen Pateep. But Mr Chavarat did not make clear his position yesterday, saying only that he would vote for the candidate supported by Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and Niphon Prompan, who is the prime minister's secretary-general.
       Although Mr Suthep and Mr Niphon are not on the board, they play a key role in the selection process. The pair once wanted Pol Gen Chumpol to be the new police leader. But a source said the two would eventually end up taking the same line as the prime minister.