Thailand holds general elections

Millions of Thai voters cast ballots to elect a new government , as the military-backed UTN party faces the risk of defeat.

Nearly 95,000 polling stations in Thailand will operate from 8am to 5pm today, with preliminary results expected to be announced from 6:30pm. More than 52.4 million Thais have registered to vote, with about 2.3 million voters casting early ballots since May 7.

Each voter is given two ballots, a purple one to choose a local parliamentary candidate and a blue one to choose the country's ruling party. The Election Commission of Thailand (EC) estimates that 85% of registered voters will turn out to vote.

A total of 70 parties with thousands of parliamentary candidates have registered to run, of which 63 people from 43 parties have been announced as prime ministerial candidates.

People vote at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 14. Photo: Reuters — People vote at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 14. Photo: *Reuters*

"This general election is considered a national goal to demonstrate the power of clean elections. There will be no vote-buying," said EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong.

Thailand's national police chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas announced the deployment of nearly 148,000 officers to ensure security at polling stations nationwide, as well as being ready to deploy quickly to respond to special situations.

Pre-election polls show opposition parties have a big advantage over the military-backed United Thai National Party (UTN), led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Pita Limjaroenrat, 42, of the Move Forward party has recently emerged as a potential prime ministerial candidate.

The Pheu Thai Party, which is linked to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is expected to win the most seats in the House of Representatives. Thaksin's daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 36, is one of three candidates for Pheu Thai. She has said that Pheu Thai will not form a governing coalition with military-backed groups.

However, winning a majority in the lower house does not mean that Pheu Thai and Move Forward can take power in Thailand, because the prime minister will be chosen by 500 members of the lower house and 250 senators. The members of the upper house are appointed by Mr. Prayuth's government.

The Pheu Thai Party is urging supporters to vote for a landslide victory and prevent the military from retaining power, as happened when Mr Prayuth became prime minister with the backing of the Senate in 2019.

Vu Anh (According to Bangkok Post )

Source link