Nationwide advance polling on Sunday was disrupted by anti-government protesters, who managed to shut 45 polling stations out of 50 across Bangkok, as well as 42 polling stations in 12 provinces mostly in southern Thailand.
About 400,000 people lost their right to vote because of the disruptions, according the Election Commission. 2.4 million people have registered to vote in advance, out of the country’s 48 million eligible voters.
The Erawan Emergency Centre reported that protest leader Suthin Tarathin was shot dead and 10 more injured near Bang Na District polling station in Bangkok, after successfully shutting it down.
Other stations across Bangkok saw clashes between people who wanted to vote and anti-government protesters. Thousands of people who could not vote today went to the police to file complaints about their voting intent.
Nonnapat Kenyotha, a 25-year-old engineer from northeastern Buriram province who came to vote in advance at Bang Kapi polling station, said he was very disappointed by the role of the Election Commission, who seemed reluctant to hold the Feb 2 general election.
“I feel like the people who want to go to vote do not mean anything. I’ve been waiting for this day, waiting to express myself peacefully,” he said.
“We’ve been putting up with this and letting them [the anti-government protesters] do whatever they want, so I’m quite sad that I cannot exercise my rights today.”
Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Deputy Prime Minister and head of the government’s emergency situation centre, said many polling stations seemed to have been closed down unusually quickly and some officials may be cooperating with the protesters. He urged the authorities to prosecute those who were involved in the disruption.
On Sunday, Paris-based human rights organization FIDH condemned the protesters who blockaded the polls as "serious violation of Thai laws and international human rights standards."
The anti-government protesters’ campaign to undermine the election came after over two months of rallies in Bangkok. The movement, consisting mostly of elite and middleclass Bangkokians, aims to get rid of the “Thaksin regime,” meaning the clan of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in the 2006 coup, and is now in self-exile.
Suthep Thaugsuban, leader of the protest and former Democrat MP, said the movement aimed to conduct “reform” by establishing an unelected “People’s Council,” to “clean up” the system for about 1-1.5 years, then elections could follow.
Last week, the Constitutional Court, deemed politicized by many, decided that the election can be postponed, but the government must consult with the Election Commission about a possible new date.
“The court’s reading seems like it wanted to throw the political burden back on to the government and lacks any legal basis,” said Worachet Pakeerut, law professor at Thammasat University and a member of the Enlightened Jurists, a progressive legal scholars group.
The Constitutional Court cited the 2 April 2006 election as the legal basis for deciding that a royal decree for a new election date could be issued. But the 2006 election had already taken place and was later annulled due to electoral mismanagement, unlike this year’s where it has not yet taken place, he said.
“Those who want to postpone the election, I think it’s because the time left before the election isn’t enough for them to overthrow the government,” said Worachet, insisting that the electoral law stipulates that government must hold an election within 60 days of the dissolution of parliament.
The government is to discuss postponing the election with the Election Commission on Tuesday (Jan 28).
The anti-government protests are in the second week of occupying main intersections in the so-called “Bangkok Shutdown” to oust the caretaker government. Although the government declared an emergency situation in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, prohibiting public gatherings of more than five people, it seems incapable of handling the chaotic situation well.
Somchai Issara, a 45-year-old sales person from Bangkok who joined in obstructing the poll in Bang Kapi, said he did want the election but emphasized that it is not yet the right time, as prior national reform is necessary.
Asked if he knew that disrupting electoral process is a crime, he said the Yingluck government is deprived of legitimacy since it has rejected the decisions of the Constitutional Court in many cases, such as the selection of the senates and the election postponement.
“If the government doesn’t accept the decisions of the constitutional court, why should I respect any law enforced by this government?” he said.