Voting cancelled in 42 districts nationwide

[rct99q]

Shame on Thailand. They look preposterous. Who would ever do business with Thailand seeing how this place is run?

I agree with you..why would anyone else in the rest of the civilized, financial and investment world even want to blink at showing an iota of a risk interest in this place anymore?...I wouldn't...This place is a comedy act out of vaudeville..Its an embarassment...If only those who were born and raised and live here had a clue at how stupid they have made this place look..then they would understand why the rest of us snicker at it all so much

pretty much the same sentiments I have about most Americans.......and....the only people I hear snickering are those of lesser intelligence whose knowledge of world events come from watching Fox News and talking with the Venezuelan guy sitting next to you at the bar.

[Lite Beer]

No elections in nine southern provinces and five districts of Bangkok

BANGKOK: -- Two hours after the start of the voting today, elections still cannot be staged in 42 constituencies in nine southern provinces and five constituencies in Bangkok due to closure of the polling units and other problems, said Mr Puchong Nuttrawong, secretary-general of the Election Commission today.

Elections cannot be held in Songkhla, Trang, Phatthalung, Chumporn, Ranong, Surat Thani, Phang-nga, Phuket and Krabi provinces as well as Bangkok’s five districts namely Ratchathevi, Din Daeng, Lak Si, Bang Kapi and Bung Kum.

Election officials however managed to open polling units for polling in 68 provinces, said Mr Puchong.

Mr Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, election commissioner for electoral affairs, said that he himself could not cast his vote. He pointed out that elections could not be staged for three factors namely lack of election equipments such as ballot papers, absence of election officials and officials manning polling units.

He further said that the Election Commission would meet later on today to discuss setting a new election day within seven days for constituencies where elelction could not be staged today.

In Din Daeng, angry voters tried to break into the Din Daeng district office after election officials scrapped the election claiming that protesters had blocked them from getting election-related equipments out of the office.

In Bang Kapi district, election officials cancelled elections in 38 polling units claiming that the landlords had barred officials from using their land for the polling units and also several election officials had resigned.

Pheu Thai candidate Pakdeeharn Himathongkham urged the voters to file complaints with the police against the district officer and election officials.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/elections-nine-southern-provinces-five-districts-bangkok/

-- Thai PBS 2014-02-02

[Bakseeda]

"Only the voter turnout number and number of those who failed to cast ballots today will be revealed, according to the BMA permanent-secretary.

Ms Ninnart added she has instructed staff at all poll stations to be wary of their safety and that of the public. The EC has given authority to local staff to consider closing the poll units to avoid any clashes and casualties.

As of now, she said, the overall situation is under control, while a new election date will be later set for poll stations which could not be opened today"

By which time Suthep and his cohorts should be off the streets as the push for "peoples council" appears to be a massive fail, and he has lied yet again about not blocking polling stations.

Time he was placed somewhere where he can do no more harm to Thailand and it's people.

Shame on you....!

[binjalin]

The day is proceeding with no clashes between protesters and police thus far. The effectiveness of the vote today will be quite predictable, with the country evenly divided down the middle between functional and dysfunction.

voting as normal = 333 constituencies

polls cancelled due to disruption = 42 constituencies (and we don't know yet if there was a complete shutdown)

Hardly split down the middle!

And the fact that there was no voting, should not be taken to mean that no-one in those 42 constituencies wanted to vote.

impossible! Suthep has spoken!

The PDRC had not obstructed anyone from voting and did not intervene at polling units

[Oscar2]

Shame on Thailand. They look preposterous. Who would ever do business with Thailand seeing how this place is run?

It does look like a banana republic to the rest of the world. wonder how foreign investors will react tomorrow and if the stock market will drop big time?

[kuka]

the majority of the population in Thailand has voted. Time to clean the garbage off the streets

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3

[millwall_fan]

Shame on Thailand. They look preposterous. Who would ever do business with Thailand seeing how this place is run?

I agree with you..why would anyone else in the rest of the civilized, financial and investment world even want to blink at showing an iota of a risk interest in this place anymore?...I wouldn't...This place is a comedy act out of vaudeville..Its an embarassment...If only those who were born and raised and live here had a clue at how stupid they have made this place look..then they would understand why the rest of us snicker at it all so much

OK. Point taken,. but I'd rather live and work here, warts and all, than try my luck in the boring, frozen wastes of David Cameron's Britain! And as for the violent gun toting culture of the US with no go zones, ethnic residential areas , tea parties and an even more arrogant elite than we have here, well, maybe the Thais are dealing with their differences in a unique way....

[JAG]

As of now, she said, the overall situation is under control, while a new election date will be later set for poll stations which could not be opened today.

I wonder, how many more new election dates will be set?

The message is not sinking in this government thick heads.

The message is that only 42 districts were prevented from voting. A clear majority of the Thai electorate voted. Suthep and his mates said they would prevent this election, they didn't manage to do so.

Your message is that democracy must not be allowed to be practised in Thailand.

The Thai electorates message to you is bugger off!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Lite Beer]

Voters flock to police as poll cancelled
By English News

Bangkok, Feb 2 - More than 1,000 frustrated voters have notified the police for not being able to cast their ballots, as polling was canceled in many areas.

Residents of Bangkapi district in Bangkok on Sunday headed to Hua Mak Police Stations to notify police following concerns about losing voting rights due to poll cancellation. The Election Commission (EC) failed to find alternative venues to run the election after some business operators refused to offer space for voting.

However, 126 out of 164 polling units in Bangkapi district were able to open for voting, with 38 polling stations closed.

Police said those who failed to cast their ballots can report to the police up to seven days after the Election Day, and they expected to register at least 1,500 more complaints.

EC’s Deputy Secretary-General, Thanit Sriprathet earlier reported that 488 polling units in five districts of Bangkok namely Bangkapi, Ratchathewi, Din Daeng, Laksi and Bungkum were unable to open polling booths today due to disruptions by anti-government protesters.

Elections could not be held in 9 southern provinces namely Trang, Songkhla, Patthalung, Chumpon, Ranong, Surat Thani, Phang Nga, Phuket and Krabi. Polling was later cancelled in Prachuab Kiri Khan Province as well.

There were no reported disruptions at polling stations in the 20 provinces of Northeast and the 16 provinces of the North.

Meanwhile, for citizens voting from 67 countries worldwide, only 27 per cent or 38,350 out of 143,807 registered voters, exercised their rights. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2014-02-02

[kuka]

Let's hope after the election results the police mobilize and capture the mad man named Suthep. His terroristic antics have been tolerated for way too long and it's time for him to go to jail.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3

[Boxclever]

92% of polling stations were open and the citizens were able to cast their vote.

Pretty indicitive of the support the yellow shirts have.

8%....Ohhhh that must hurt

[h90]

Well, I know my wife didn't vote, for the first time ever. She just had enough of the bulls*&t from both sides. Like me, she feels that both sides are crooks and just using the people like pawns.

There were alternative candidates?

And the old story, if you have the right to vote and do not use it you should not complain about the result?

The only alternative candidate was Chuvit.....

[gerry1011]

Suthep now really looks like a fool

Same as all those irrational people - and TV posters - who supported him

Sent from my HTC One using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[h90]

As of now, she said, the overall situation is under control, while a new election date will be later set for poll stations which could not be opened today.

I wonder, how many more new election dates will be set?

The message is not sinking in this government thick heads.

The message is that only 42 districts were prevented from voting. A clear majority of the Thai electorate voted. Suthep and his mates said they would prevent this election, they didn't manage to do so.

Your message is that democracy must not be allowed to be practised in Thailand.

The Thai electorates message to you is bugger off!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

How many voted is currently unknown. Also there are rumors from the East about people who got the money only needed to give their ID card and didn't need to go for the vote. That bad thing is no one can say if it is just a 0.0x % incident or if it was common.....

[Boxclever]

BTW...where is Herr Suthep today?

[MaxLee]

What difference does it make???? the result is obvious, or would you expect anything else?

[LevelHead]

It was good the election was carried out without problem in the majority of the country, only in a small minority of the country was it disrupted by criminals (as it is against the law to obstruct an election) of the PDRC.

Now the boot is firmly on the other foot.

Suthep and the Democrats have to urgently try to get this election nullified..............the reason why is that..............

Everyone has seen the armed PDRC guards at Laksi shooting at pro-election people.

All the election staff who are biased and resigned, did not turn up or closed early are now on record.

All those election staff who turned up, did their job and carried out the election process are now on record.

So, as we go forward, staff who carried out the election process can now be put into place at places where it failed for by-elections.

The police only have to now guard a very few places for the by-elections.

So the boot is now on the other foot and it will get more and more difficult for the PDRC to obstruct by-elections, and each one that is a success pushes the number of seats upwards towards the 95% target.

The caretaker government now is still caretaker and cannot be removed, the EC are now tasked on their own to run by-elections and so all the pressure now goes to Suthep and the Democrats and the PDRC backers, because if they cannot get the result annulled, and with public support failing very quickly now for them, they are in trouble.

The PDRC are being clever still, they are trying hard to keep photo appearances up of protest support but :

1/ They are giving away free food and drink - which attracts people.

2/ They have actors and actresses in their midst - which attracts people for photos.

3/ They have lots of stalls selling items, getting in the shopping crowd - which attracts people.

All very clever ways of trying to show more people attending, but their tactics are failing and failing fast, protestor levels are dropping all the time - the Laksi incident and PDRC guards shooting and hurting pro-election people has done them massive harm.

All in my opinion of course.

[Thailand]

"Only the voter turnout number and number of those who failed to cast ballots today will be revealed, according to the BMA permanent-secretary.

Ms Ninnart added she has instructed staff at all poll stations to be wary of their safety and that of the public. The EC has given authority to local staff to consider closing the poll units to avoid any clashes and casualties.

As of now, she said, the overall situation is under control, while a new election date will be later set for poll stations which could not be opened today"

By which time Suthep and his cohorts should be off the streets as the push for "peoples council" appears to be a massive fail, and he has lied yet again about not blocking polling stations.

Time he was placed somewhere where he can do no more harm to Thailand and it's people.

Shame on you....!

Nice response. Difficult to make a reply to such a well presented, erudite,thoughtfully presented post.

[Lingba]

Shame on Thailand. They look preposterous. Who would ever do business with Thailand seeing how this place is run?

I agree with you..why would anyone else in the rest of the civilized, financial and investment world even want to blink at showing an iota of a risk interest in this place anymore?...I wouldn't...This place is a comedy act out of vaudeville..Its an embarassment...If only those who were born and raised and live here had a clue at how stupid they have made this place look..then they would understand why the rest of us snicker at it all so much

OK. Point taken,. but I'd rather live and work here, warts and all, than try my luck in the boring, frozen wastes of David Cameron's Britain! And as for the violent gun toting culture of the US with no go zones, ethnic residential areas , tea parties and an even more arrogant elite than we have here, well, maybe the Thais are dealing with their differences in a unique way....

of course..and tell me what country is corruption and BS free?..we're all riding in the back of the bus

[BoardDWorld]

Well, I know my wife didn't vote, for the first time ever. She just had enough of the bulls*&t from both sides. Like me, she feels that both sides are crooks and just using the people like pawns.

Looks like she won't vote in the next election either.

Som nam na.

As far as I can see this comment rings true. A lot simply did not vote for the very same reasons.

[englishoak]

Its party where I am now atm, alcohol no problem everyone is in a light mood and no ones watching the news or worried about violence, not one person here failed to vote who wished to.

Major problem and headache for Suthep now it seems the people have spoken ...and with no violence today, only where the officials didnt do their job or the protesters broke their word about not obstructing voting. they will not succeed in the follow up by elections.

All they have left now are the courts and the world is watching the circus show, if they dare to try a coup via that route they had better be ready for the backlash.

[kimamey]

As of now, she said, the overall situation is under control, while a new election date will be later set for poll stations which could not be opened today.

I wonder, how many more new election dates will be set?

The message is not sinking in this government thick heads.

How about you look at the Thai statement. The translation is incorrect, much as it was for Abhisit's Unconstitutional statement.

Her statement was in respect to alternative dates for participation in THIS election, not a new election date.

There seems to be some debate over whether all the voting has to take place at once which might need a new election..

All a bit confusing right now.

[kimamey]

As of now, she said, the overall situation is under control, while a new election date will be later set for poll stations which could not be opened today.

I wonder, how many more new election dates will be set?

The message is not sinking in this government thick heads.

How about you look at the Thai statement. The translation is incorrect, much as it was for Abhisit's Unconstitutional statement.

Her statement was in respect to alternative dates for participation in THIS election, not a new election date.

There seems to be some debate over whether all the voting has to take place at once which might need a new election..

All a bit confusing right now.

[Cnxforever]

"Election Commissioner Pushong Nutrawong said 42 out of 333 districts nationwide were unable to open polling booths today, mainly in the South, Central and the East regions."

What he meant but did not sat was "unwilling" to open. I hope that all election officials found guilty of trying to derail the elections will go to prison!

[metisdead]

A flame post has been removed.

[whybother]

92% of polling stations were open and the citizens were able to cast their vote.

Pretty indicitive of the support the yellow shirts have.

8%....Ohhhh that must hurt

How do you even go close to measuring their support by the number of polling booths they shut down??

Sent from my phone ...

[whybother]

"Election Commissioner Pushong Nutrawong said 42 out of 333 districts nationwide were unable to open polling booths today, mainly in the South, Central and the East regions."

What he meant but did not sat was "unwilling" to open. I hope that all election officials found guilty of trying to derail the elections will go to prison!

It's a bit hard to open them when there are either no officials or no ballot papers. Unless of course, the ballot papers were unwilling to turn up.

Sent from my phone ...

[Thait Spot]

As of now, she said, the overall situation is under control, while a new election date will be later set for poll stations which could not be opened today.

I wonder, how many more new election dates will be set?

The message is not sinking in this government thick heads.

How about you look at the Thai statement. The translation is incorrect, much as it was for Abhisit's Unconstitutional statement.

Her statement was in respect to alternative dates for participation in THIS election, not a new election date.

There seems to be some debate over whether all the voting has to take place at once which might need a new election..

All a bit confusing right now.

Apparently the royal decree sought from the Palace states that elections will be completed in a day

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited February 2, 2014 by Thait Spot

[ShannonT]

Thailand has 878 districts and voting has been cancelled in only 42.

No way this election will be declared null and void.

Keep dreaming, Democrats. You shot yourself in the foot with this one.

[whybother]

Thailand has 878 districts and voting has been cancelled in only 42.

No way this election will be declared null and void.

Keep dreaming, Democrats. You shot yourself in the foot with this one.

It was done in 2006.

Sent from my phone ...