Thailand Live Monday 3 Feb 2014

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PM satisfied that no violence occurred during election

BANGKOK, 3 February 2014 (NNT) - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra thanked all relevant personnel and members of the public for working together to maintain democracy, allowing the general election to proceed with no violence.

Ms Yingluck said that election was a part of the nation's democratic process because citizens were able to exercise their individual political rights. She said the high voter turnout showed that citizens wanted to peacefully solve the nation's political conflicts and expressed hope that all sectors would support the nation in reaching solutions to problems.

The PM added that she was satisfied that no violence occurred during the election. Ms Yingluck reiterated that the Sunday polls were a first step to solving Thailand's political problems and the government would find ways to open a parliamentary session after the election.


-- NNT 2014-02-03

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ELECTION
Doubt over poll outcome
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- DESPITE the government's claim of "victory" after voting was conducted in 89 per cent of the country's 375 constituencies yesterday, many factors point to the high likelihood that this election - marred by boycotts and a long rowdy protest - could end up being declared void.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701592-thailand-election-doubt-over-poll-outcome/

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SNAP ELECTION
DIY voters make their own poll unit
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Pro-election supporters in Ratchathewi district made their own ballot boxes and papers after the real ballot boxes and voting papers could not be delivered to polling stations in the area.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701593-snap-election-bangkok-voters-make-their-own-poll-unit/

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LAK SI CLASH
Man injured in crossfire 'likely paralysed'
The Nation

BANGKOK -- THE DAUGHTERS of an elderly man wounded in the crossfire at the Lak Si intersection on Saturday said yesterday that he would likely be left paralysed after a bullet was surgically extracted from his neck.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701594-lak-si-clash-man-injured-in-crossfire-likely-paralysed/

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FEBRUARY 2 ELECTION
Voting or at a 'picnic', stars were flat out
VEENA THOOPKRAJAE
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- THAIS have been making political statements on their social media sites lately, but the phenomenon reached new heights yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701595-voting-or-at-a-picnic-stars-were-flat-out/

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SNAP ELECTION
Most polling stations in South fail to open
THE NATION



No ballots cast in nine provinces;voting in North, NorthEast goes smoothly

BANGKOK: -- SUNDAY'S ELECTION hit a major snag in the southern region, with most polling stations there unable to operate.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701596-most-polling-stations-in-thai-south-fail-to-open/

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SOUTH CRISIS
Four shot dead in Pattani ambush
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- THREE SOLDIERS and an assistant district chief were shot dead and five others wounded after being attacked with a roadside bomb while on their way to rescue security volunteers at a checkpoint in Khok Pho in Pattani, officials said yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701597-four-shot-dead-in-pattani-ambush/

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EDITORIAL
Anti-graft fight another major political casualty
The Nation

While anti-govt protest highlights deep-rooted graft, politicisation will make it more difficult to combat this scourge

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701598-thai-editorial-anti-graft-fight-another-major-political-casualty/

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EC told to hold fresh elections within 30 days



BANGKOK: -- The Election Commission was urged to stage fresh elections within 30 days in constituencies where election could not be held on Sunday so that the 500-seat House of Representatives must be at least 95 percent filled up, Mr Kanin Boonsuwan, a member of the Pheu Thai party’s election committee, said Sunday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701599-ec-told-to-hold-fresh-elections-within-30-days/

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LETTER FROM A POLLING BOOTH
A slap in the face
Achara Deboonme
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- AGAINST THE People's Democratic Reform Committee's wish, I was among the millions who voted yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701600-a-slap-in-the-face-thai-politics/

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Gunshots at Lak Si intersection came from anti-govt side, police say
The Nation

ARREST WARRANTS TO BE SOUGHT TODAY BASED ON MEDIA IMAGES, SPOKESMAN SAYS

BANGKOK: -- GUNFIRE during a confrontation between anti- and pro-government crowds on Saturday around a ballot-storage site near the Lak Si intersection in northern Bangkok came from the anti-government side, a police spokesman said yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701601-gunshots-at-lak-si-intersection-came-from-anti-govt-side-bangkok-police-say/

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Wounded red-shirt gets a big police guard en-route to ballot box
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Red-shirt hardliner Kwanchai Praipana was carried in on a stretcher to cast a vote in Udon Thani yesterday amid thick security.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701602-wounded-red-shirt-hardliner-kwanchai-gets-a-big-police-guard-en-route-to-ballot-box/

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Chuwit: 'No grudge against attacker'
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Rak Prathet Thai Party leader Chuwit Kamolvisit and his guards engaged in a skirmish with some protesters at 8.40am after he tried to move through their line to vote yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701603-chuwit-no-grudge-against-attacker/

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Did PM mix up her ballot boxes?
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra may have bungled while casting her ballots by dropping her two ballot papers in the wrong ballot boxes, according to a blogger who scrutinised a clip of the PM exercising her voting right in yesterday's poll.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701604-did-pm-yingluck-mix-up-her-ballot-boxes/

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Russian Woman injured as Indian loses control of Jet Ski on Pattaya Beach



PATTAYA: -- A 78 year old Russian woman suffered a suspected broken leg after she was struck by a fast-moving Jet Ski driven by an Indian, which had left the water and came onto the beach.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701605-russian-woman-injured-as-indian-loses-control-of-jet-ski-on-pattaya-beach/

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Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman dies

NEW YORK: -- Oscar-winning American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has died at his home in New York at the age of 46.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701610-actor-philip-seymour-hoffman-dies-aged-46/

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Suthep will lead PDRC protesters from Lat Phrao, Victory Monument to join demonstration at Lumpini Park for their safety /MCOT

Government Complex at Chaeng Wattana set to reopen after PDRC protesters plan to dissolve rally site; Shooting at Thai-Belgium Bridge, two wounded /MCOT

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CAPO to reopen government offices as normal today, beginning with Justice Ministry

BANGKOK: -- The Center for Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO) plans to reopen government offices as normal today (Feb 3, 2014), starting with the Ministry of Justice.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701634-capo-to-reopen-government-offices-as-normal-today-beginning-with-justice-ministry/

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Thai stock index opens on Monday at 1,282.85, gains 8.57 points /MCOT

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Pheu Thai leader urged voters (unable to cast ballots Sun.) to press charges against Election Commission, anti-govt protest leader Suthep /The Nation

Ratchaburi rice farmers still blocking Rama 2 Road at Pak Thor, demand rice payment under rice scheme; will block Petkasem Road /The Nation

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RT @RichardBarrow: 10am Suthep leaving Lad Prao intersection now on a 14km march to Lumpini (Pic @ArmMatichon) http://t.co/hkfwhnkjk8

RT @RichardBarrow: Route of protest march is: Latphrao > Saphan Kwai > Victory Monument > Pathumwan > Ratchaprasong > Lumpini. It is 14km & will take all day

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Democrat Party to seek court annulment of snap polls
By Digital Content

BANGKOK, Feb 3 - The Democrat Party is accumulating evidence to seek a Constitution Court ruling to invalidate yesterday's general election, according to a party executive.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701639-democrat-party-to-seek-thai-court-annulment-of-snap-polls/

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Two wounded in shooting at Thai-Belgium flyover bridge
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, Feb 3 -- Two people were wounded in a shooting attack at the Thai-Belgium flyover bridge in Bangkok.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701640-two-wounded-in-shooting-at-thai-belgium-flyover-bridge-in-bangkok/

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PDRC to retreat from Victory Monument and Lard Phrao



BANGKOK: -- The People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) will retreat from Victory Monument and Lard Phrao intersection where it occupied for a month back to Lumpini protest site after the two protest sites came under almost nightly grenade and gun attacks by armed gunmen.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701641-bangkok-pdrc-to-retreat-from-victory-monument-and-lard-phrao/

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Defiant Thai protesters disregard poll with fresh efforts to force out PM
No solution seen to Thailand’s dysfunctional political status quo
Reuters in Bangkok

Anti-government protesters planned to forge ahead on Monday with efforts to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a day after a disrupted election that is unlikely to settle Thailand’s long-running political conflict.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701642-defiant-thai-protesters-disregard-poll-with-fresh-efforts-to-force-out-pm/

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Caretaker PM Yingluck asserts election will resolve conflicts
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, Feb 3 - Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has expressed optimism that all quarters in Thai society will gradually resolve the political problems despite an incomplete general election yesterday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701643-caretaker-pm-yingluck-asserts-election-will-resolve-conflicts/

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Suthep leads protesters to abandon Lat Phrao, Victory Monument sites for Lumpini Park, still occupy Government Complex at Chaeng Wattana /MCOT

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RT @RichardBarrow: 10:45am The rally stages at Lad Prao & Victory Monument are being dismantled (Pic @Anuphan_nna) http://t.co/yKlF4u9HZT

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Analysis
Limbo looms for Thailand after protest-hit polls
by Kelly MACNAMARA

BANGKOK, February 3, 2014 (AFP) - Thailand's protest-plagued elections herald a political stalemate that risks unleashing deepening turmoil and potential judicial intervention in the polarised kingdom, experts say.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701652-limbo-looms-for-thailand-after-protest-hit-polls/

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Pheu Thai may misunderstand EC rules: EC

BANGKOK: -- Pheu Thai Party may misunderstand that the Election Commission (EC) would hold a new election for voters in 69 constituencies of 18 provinces who could not vote on February, EC Commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyarkorn said Monday.

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/701656-pheu-thai-may-misunderstand-ec-rules-ec/