Thailand: Stage set for advance voting in Thai election | The Nation

Over 2.6 million Thais are today set to cast their votes in advance ahead of the July 3 election, representing more than 5 per cent of the total eligible voters. Their returns will not be counted until July 3, when all returns are collected by the Election Commission.

Out of the country’s 47 million eligible voters, about 2.6 million have registered to exercise their right in advance as they will not be in their constituencies on election day. Another 210,000 Thais also have registered for advance voting in their constituency. But if they do not exercise their right today these people can still cast their votes on July 3 at their respective constituencies.

Thailand: Thai Election Commission satisfied with advance voting | XinhuaNet

Thailand’s Election Commission chairman Apichart Sukhagganond said that he is satisfied with the advance voting which largely went on smoothly throughout the country Sunday.

Apichart said this at a venue for the advance voting in Bangkok while he was witnessing the closing of the ballot box at 03:00 p.m. local time. In Bangkok, the ballot boxes would be kept at district offices and watched by guards around the clock with the help from closed- circuit cameras.

Thailand: Troubled path to election in Buri Ram Thailand | Bangkok Post

The lead up to the election in Buri Ram is becoming heated with the Election Commission receiving evidence of alleged vote buying and facing a residents’ protest.

Police had given the election watchdog a photo of a person clearly handing out money to villagers, EC Apichart Sukhagganond said on Friday. He would not say where this occurred. Investigators are looking into which party was involved and election commissioner would meet to consider the case on June 28, he said.

Thailand: The economics of election campaign posters | Bangkok Post

When an election is called, there is not much that MP candidates can do to promote themselves to the public and win that coveted ‘X’ in front of their numbers.

The natural thing to do is for candidates to meet people in their constituencies and give them name cards, flyers or pamphlets detailing their policies. But this can be time-consuming and expose them to the risk of being publicly embarrassed by supporters of their rivals.

Devising ploys or staging stunts to attract public attention is possible but does not always guarantee space in mainstream media, much less votes unless the activities are really extraordinary. For example, three candidates recently lay in coffins for photographers to signify the dangers of campaigning, and as a way to ward off malign spirits according to their belief.

Thailand: Thai Royalists Urge People Not to Vote in July Election | VoAnews

In Thailand, the political campaign season is fully under way ahead of next month’s closely contested national elections. While much of the attention is on the standoff between the ruling Democrat Party and the opposition Pheu Thai party, there are scores of lesser-known parties vying to be heard.

But one political movement that has played a major role in politics in recent years is now urging people not to vote at all.

Thailand: Election Commission has no objection to European Union monitoring poll | Bangkok Post

The Election Commission has raised no objections to the European Union’s observer role in the July 3 election. EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond yesterday said the commission was ready to allow the EU to monitor the poll in Thailand since EU member countries also had embassies in the kingdom.

Mr Apichart said the EC had told the EU during a recent meeting that it had no objection to the EU request to send a team of officials to observe the July 3 poll as the commission was confident it could supervise the general election in line with international standards.

Thailand: Party could face ban over poll placards | Bangkok Post

The For Heaven and Earth Party could be disbanded if its controversial “Vote No” placards are found to be in violation of election laws, an Election Commission member says.

Commissioner Somchai Juengprasert said that a panel had been set up to look into the contents of the party’s placards, erected around town, that feature animals in suits. The inquiry committee is a joint effort between the EC and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

The probe follows the EC’s decision that the animal placards which were put up by the For Heaven and Earth Party are election-related and covered by election regulations.

Thailand: Thailand cracks down on beastly “no vote” billboards | Monsters and Critics

Thai election authorities Thursday ordered the removal of ‘no vote’ posters in Bangkok depicting politicians as monkeys, buffaloes, dogs, tigers and crocodiles.

Election Commission chairman Apichart Sukhakhanond said the billboards, put up by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) movement, had to be removed because they were larger than regulation size. ‘I don’t want to get into the details,’ Apichart told reporters.

On Wednesday, the commission had voted that the billboards were election-related, even though the PAD is not competing in the July 3 polls, and it had the authority to decide on their removal.

Thailand: People’s Alliance for Democracy roars over Thai billboard ban

People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) will seek a court injunction blocking the removal of billboards with “animal” politicians, its spokesman Panthep Pourpongpan said today.

The PAD’s legal team was checking pertinent provisions before petitioning either the Central Administrative Court or the Civil Court to launch an emergency inquiry into the issue.

The PAD is furious following the Election Commission (EC)’s ruling on Wednesday to ban the “No” vote and animal-headed politicians billboards introduced by the PAD, saying these violated election laws. Its commissioners voted 4-1 to have the “No” vote billboards removed for violating the electoral law and the cleanliness ordinance.

Thailand: Poll watchdog raises Thai vote-buying fears | Straits Times

Vote-buying is a concern in Thailand’s upcoming national election, an international monitoring group that will be observing the polls said on Monday.

The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is deploying about 60 observers nationwide for the July 3 vote, the first since Thailand’s deadliest political unrest in decades last year.

Thailand: Election Commission prints extra ballot papers for Thailand election | Bangkok Post :

The Election Commission says the reason why it is producing millions more ballots than the number of eligible voters for the July 3 election is because it has to cater to advance voting.

EC deputy secretary-general Boonyakiat Rakchartcharoen yesterday said that although there were only 47.3 million eligible voters in Thailand, the commission ordered 53.5 million ballots to be produced for the party-list system because it had to prepare ballots for advance voting on June 26 as well.

He was responding to the Pheu Thai Party’s query as to why the EC was producing what it viewed to be an excessive number of ballots.

Thailand: Will Thailand’s military allow free elections? | msnbc.com

It’s official. Thailand will go to the polls on July 3. It’s supposed to be a goodnews after more than two tumultuous years of political unrest under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s administration. It is the first election since street demonstrations in Bangkok last year by the anti-government “Red Shirt” protesters, supporters of deposed former premier Thaksin…