The Election Commission (EC) has begun counting votes after the general election concluded at 5pm on Sunday.
As of 10.52pm, the Move Forward Party had taken the lead in both the constituency and party-list races, followed by the Pheu Thai Party and the Bhumjaithai Party.
The votes were still being tallied, with unofficial results expected to be available around 11pm, according to the EC.
SAMUT PRAKAN: A woman was detained after injuring her husband in a gun and knife attack near a polling station in Muang district on Sunday, police said.
According to police, the incident occurred at 12.20pm while the husband, 63, was driving a pickup truck with his minor wife to the polling station at Darunrat School in Soi Wat Dan Samrong 58 in tambon Samrong Nua to vote. His legal wife was waiting for them in front of the school and signalled him to stop.
The husband, who police did not identify, continued to drive past her.
Footage from two security cameras in the area showed the legal wife, who was named by the police only as Samorn, 61, fired one shot with a handgun at the pickup before hopping onto the back of the vehicle.
From the back of the pickup, she fired two other shots at her husband. One shot hit him in the back.
The husband lost control of the vehicle and rammed it into a power post. Ms Samorn jumped off the pickup, rushed around to her husband and stabbed him twice in the right thigh in the driver’s seat.
The minor wife jumped out of the vehicle from the other side and fled on a motorcycle-taxi.
After the attack, Ms Samorn waited for police at the scene. She surrendered to officers with a .38 revolver and a knife.
Ms Samorn said she and her husband married in 1983 and they had children who are now grown up. Several years ago he left her for the minor wife, and last met him in 2019.
She had tried to arrange to meet him for talks as they are still legally married, she said, but he kept evading her.
Ms Samorn said she waited for him in front of the school, knowing he would be there with the minor wife to cast their votes. She admitted to attacking her husband out of bitterness.
She was charged with attempted murder and illegally carrying and using a gun in public.
CHIANG RAI: A landslide struck Mae Fah Luang district following heavy downpours on Saturday night, killing one person.
Kanchit Comphudaeng, chief of Chiang Rai’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), cited a report by local authorities that identified the victim as Ahjay Biakao, 59.
Ahjay, a stateless person, was found by local authorities inside his home, which had collapsed following heavy rain over the weekend.
Downpours over the weekend also caused damage in Mae Chan district, with landslides blocking access to tambon Pa Tung. The rain also caused water levels along the Chan River to rise, inundating many homes in Moo 1 and Moo 3 in the district.
To date, he said, damage has been reported in three tambons and five villages across Mae Fah Luang and Mae Chan district.
Separately, the Meteorological Department is urging people to keep an eye out for the impact of Cyclone Mocha, which is currently moving through Bangladesh and Myanmar.
While the cyclone will weaken before it hits Thailand, it will bring a significant amount of rain and cause waves of up to three metres in the Andaman Sea, the department said on Sunday.
According to a post on his Facebook page on Sunday, Somkuan Tonjan, director of the Central Forecasting Division, said Cyclone Mocha has been labelled by the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) of New Delhi as a severe cyclonic storm, meaning it has the same severity as a super typhoon.
Meteorological Department deputy director-general Thanasit Iam-ananchai said the summer heat will linger a few more weeks in the kingdom, especially in the North, but temperatures are expected to start dropping in several regions with the onset of the rainy season next week. This year’s precipitation is expected to be 5% lower than last year, he added.
PHUKET: The body of a Russian man who went missing after being swept into the sea by strong waves at the famous Cape Promthep in Muang district on Friday has been found floating in the sea of Kathu district on Sunday.
According to Arun Solos, mayor of tambon Rawai municipality, a local fisherman spotted the body of a man floating in the sea near Laem Saeng Nakhalay, close to Kalim beach in Kathu, on Sunday at around 12.50pm and alerted the Kusoltham Phuket rescue foundation.
The foundation then coordinated with a command centre on Yanui beach, jointly set up by the municipality and concerned agencies, to investigate.
Upon arrival, municipal officials, rescue workers and tourist police inspected the body and took photos, which they sent to the Russian friends of the missing man. The friends confirmed that the body belonged to Lurii Smoian, 32, as they recognised his pink shorts and a necklace he was wearing before going missing. Earlier, local media had given his name spelling as Yuriy Smyan.
The body was being brought to shore at Pak Bang beach behind the Rawai municipality and would be sent to Vachira Phuket Hospital for a post-mortem examination, said the mayor.
The authorities would coordinate with the Russian embassy regarding the discovery of the body.
The missing tourist and three other Russian friends had gone to Cape Promthep to take photos when strong waves struck them on Friday. Two of them were swept into the sea. One managed to swim to shore and was rescued by officials who arrived at the scene after being alerted, but Smoian sank in full view of his three friends.
Thailand’s health minister and cannabis advocate Anutin Charnvirakul turned heads during Sunday’s election as he arrived to cast his vote at a polling station wearing a dark shirt with bright green marijuana leaves.
The 56-year-old is the prime ministerial candidate for the Bhumjaithai Party, which has campaigned on a promise to promote medical marijuana after successfully pushing for the substance to be decriminalised last year.
Without associated regulations in place, recreational use surged, angering the Southeast Asian country’s conservatives. Mr Anutin has promised that if re-elected, he will tighten regulations to curb recreational use and restrict cannabis use to medical purposes only.
Mr Anutin flashed a smile as he emerged from a voting booth and declined to answer reporters’ questions about the symbolism of his shirt.
His party, which ran on the same platform in the 2019 election, came in fifth place then, giving it a position in the current military-backed government. It is likely to repeat that performance this year.
NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: Nine people have been arrested and 1.6 tonnes of crystal methamphetamines seized as it was being loaded on a boat to be smuggled out of the country, the Office of Narcotics Control Board said on Sunday.
The operation took place at Mai Khao pier in Tha Sala district, with the help of local police.
The suspects were arrested as they were unloading 1.5 tonnes of crystal meth from two vehicles. The drugs, they told police, were to be loaded into a boat, destined for other countries.
A source said the suspects’ network had smuggled massive amounts of drugs out of the country at least three times previously.
The crackdown was launched after local authorities received a tip-off from the country the drugs were destined for, saying a large amount of crystal meth was going to be smuggled from the pier.
The network chose to carry out the attempt right before election day, on the assumption that local authorities would be preoccupied securing election facilities, the ONCB said.
The investigation was being expanded to track down other members of the network. Police were collecting evidence from the boat in the hope of finding clues that would lead them to other suspects.
One person was killed and five others injured in a fire and an explosion at a house in Bang Yai district of Nonthaburi late on Sunday morning. Six houses were damaged.
The fire broke out at a housing estate behind Wat Phra Ngern in Bang Yai district at 11.11am on Sunday. The blaze started at a house mixing chemicals before an explosion erupted.
The force of the explosion killed one man instantly and injured five others. Four of the injured were sent to hospital. Another one was slightly hurt and declined to go to hospital. Six houses were damaged by the explosion, Thai media reported.
Firefighters managed to put out the fire at around noon.
Police were investigating the cause of the blaze. They initially believed it might have been caused by a short circuit. The damage was being estimated.
High voter turnout and over 180 petitions filed with EC, says official
The general election on Sunday was proceeding smoothly, despite rain in some areas, with large numbers of people turning up to vote, Election Commission (EC) secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee said.
Voters were seen queuing up at all polling stations in the morning, indicating high responsiveness, and there were no reports of traffic problems, Mr Sawaeng said.
Individuals who notice any mistakes by polling officials or encounter any inconvenience during the lead-up to the 5pm closing time can report them to officials at the polling stations, he added.
The commissioner warned that voters are prohibited from taking pictures of their marked or destroyed ballot papers, wearing shirts with party logos or candidate numbers, and taking ballot papers out of the voting area. Gambling on election results is also not allowed.
After voting closes, individuals or representatives from political parties can observe vote counting at all 400 polling stations nationwide.
Mr Sawaeng reported that 183 petitions have been filed with the EC so far, primarily regarding alleged vote-buying and campaign smears.
NAKHON RATCHASIMA: The Chartpattanakla Party will support the party that wins the most seats in the House of Representatives to lead the formation of the government after the election, party chairman Suwat Liptapanlop said on Sunday.
Mr Suwat, the party’s candidate for prime minister, also called for all parties to accept the election results after he voted at polling station No 169 at Wat Lak Roy temple in Muang district, Nakhon Ratchasima. He was No 250 on the voters’ list.
Mr Suwat was accompanied at the polling station by Mr Tewan, his younger brother and the party secretary-general.
The Chartpattanakla chairman said he wanted to see a clean and fair election, adding that all parties should accept the result, no matter what it is, to let the country move forward.
Chartpattanakla, led by former Democrat Party member Korn Chatikavanij, is ready to support the party with the most MPs to form a government, he added.
Mr Suwat said he would be at the party head office in Nakhon Ratchasima to follow the voting results.
Party leaders were among throngs of Thai voters appearing at polling stations nationwide early on Sunday to cast their ballots in an election that will decide whether Prayut Chan-o-cha will be ousted and replaced as prime minister eight years in power.
Election Commission (EC) chairman Ittiporn Boonprakong began his inspection of polling stations in Bangkok before 8am at Suan Bua School in Soi Ratchakhru, Phayathai district, where polling stations Nos 25-27 are located.
Mr Ittiporn cast his ballot at polling station No 26 designated for 973 voters. He was No 522 on the list.
He said tthat so far, the EC had received 163 petitions related to the election – 58 concerning alleged vote-buying, 55 on campaign smears and 17 on abuse of power on the part of government officials. In the 2019 election, there were a total of 592 petitions, Mr Ittiporn added.
The EC chairman then left with an entourage, heading for polling stations in Pathum Thani province.
Gen Prayut, a prime ministerial candidate of the United Thai Nation Party, arrived at polling station No 10 in Phayathai district at about 9.06am and was greeted by a throng of Thai and foreign news reporters. He was No 163 on the voters’ list.
His wife Naraporn and daughters Thanya and Nittha Chan-o-cha were to cast their ballots later at the same polling station.
Srettha Thavisin, a Pheu Thai candidate for the prime minister’s post, shows his ballot card at a voting station on Soi Sukhumvit 16, Bangkok, on Sunday. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard)
Srettha Thavisin, a Pheu Thai Party candidate for the post of prime minister, arrived before 8am at polling station No 16 at City Lake Tower in Soi Sukhumvit 16. He was No 154 on the voters’ list.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Srettha said he was glad to vote again after a long wait. He called for Thai citizens to turn up in large numbers, saying he was confident the country would see change after the polls closed at 5pm.
Mr Srettha said he would be at the Pheu Thai headquarters after 5.30pm to follow the vote count.
Palang Pracharath Party’s prime ministerial candidate Prawit Wongsuwan arrives at a voting booth in Wang Thonglang district, Bangkok, on Sunday. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, the prime ministerial candidate and leader of the Palang Pracharath Party, cast his vote at polling station No 11 in Wang Thong Lang district shortly after 8am. He was No 470 on the list of eligible voters.
He invited all those eligible to exercise their right to vote, saying the country’s future hinged on their decision.
Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader and prime ministerial candidate of the Move Forward Party, turned up at polling station No 10 at Soi Sukhumvit 30 at 9.30am.
After casting his vote, Mr Pita said he had done his best to win popular support in the election. Like other party leaders, he said he hoped Thai voters would turn up in large numbers to make their voices heard.
Mr Pita said he was satisfied with and exited by the overall atmosphere after working hard on the campaign trail.
Move Forward Party’s prime ministerial candidate Pita Limcharoenrat drops a ballot into a box at a voting booth in Khlong Tan Nuea. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)
Paetongtarn “Ung Ing” Shinawatra, a Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate, arrived at polling station No 15 at Kheha Thani 3 in Ram Intra area, Khannayao district shortly after 10.30am.
She was No 889 on the voters’ list.
Ms Paetongtarn was accompanied by her mother Khunying Potjaman Damapong and her elder sister Pintongtha Shinwatra Kunakornwong, who also voted at the same station.
She was also greeted by a large number of Thai and foreign reporters.
Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, the Thai Sang Thai Party leader who is also a candidate for prime minister, arrived at polling station No 33 in Chompol area in Chatuchak district at 8.40am. She was accompanied by her family members.
She said she hoped the election would bring change for the better to Thailand.
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