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Sunday, 02 April 2006 |
Thailand gears up for the snap election today, from which the fate of embattled Thai Rak Thai (TRT) administration will be decided. The elections come three years ahead of scehdule after protests called to oust Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra after his family's tax-free sale of Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings.
The Democrats, Mahachon and Chart Thai parties are boycotting the election, so TRT candidates must win 20 percent of votes to win in unopposed constituencies. In last year's general election, the ruling party won a landslide 377 seats.
Of the 18 political parties who have registered 941 election candidates, only TRT is expected to win parliamentary seats in the competition. Thaksin has promised to step down if his party wins less than 50 percent of the votes.
The Election Commission of Thailand has prepared 86,905 polling stations in 400 constituencies. Interior Minister Air Chief Marshal Kongsak Wanthana says more security officers have been poasted in Thailand's three troubled southernmost provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani.
"I admit that I'm concerned about the situation in the three southern provinces and have ordered tightened security in the region. So far, everything is peaceful and no serious violence is expected," Kongsak said.
Out of 64.7 million Thais, 45.2 million are eligible to vote. The 2005 election saw 72 percent of voters casting their ballots, and the turnout is expected to be equally high today. According to an ABAC poll, 74 per cent of respondents in Bangkok say they will vote in the House of Representatives election. As to who they will vote for: 40.2 percent of respondents think Thaksin should remain as Prime Minister after the election, while 24.7 percent believe he should stand down.
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