Bangkok has the highest number of people registered for advance voting in the May 14 general election, with more than 800,000 of the 2.35 million voters nationwide intending to cast their ballots a week early.
There are 74 polling stations in the capital, with the largest number of people planning to vote on May 7 registered at Ramkhamhaeng University (about 52,000), Royal Paragon Hall (40,000) and Huai Khwang district office (28,000) polling stations, according to the Election Commission.
Other polling stations with a high number of people registered to vote early were Bang Khen district office (26,000), the Thai-Japanese Stadium (25,300), Lat Krabang district office (25,200), Bang Na district office (24,000), the car park at Central Rama II shopping mall (23,000), the car park at Wat That Thong (22,800) and Chandrakasem Rajabhat University (22,200).
A total of 2,350,969 people nationwide signed up during early-voting registration from March 25 to April 9. Advance voting will take place on May 7, one week before Election Day on May 14. Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, chairman of Seri Ruam Thai’s policy steering committee and former election commissioner, has asked the EC, in the interest of transparency, to make more information public for people exercising their voting rights abroad.
Mr Somchai said many abnormalities had been detected regarding the management of voting outside the country, such as the scrapping of postal voting, delays in sending ballot papers, and photos of candidates of two parties not matching their drawn ballot numbers in Bangkok’s constituency 11.
Urging greater transparency, the Seri Ruam Thai Party said the EC and the Foreign Affairs Ministry should disclose the actual number of voters outside the country.