BANGKOK — Should a gang of monkeys return to terrorize a Pichit provincial polling station a second time, they’ll need thumbs to get at the pink voter lists after the fragile documents were moved into a glass enclosure.
At least that’s the hope of elections officials who, after Sunday’s incident in which more than 100 macaques stormed a temple polling place and damaged the posted documents, moved replacement documents into a locked cabinet.
For good measure, the officials also treated the monkeys roaming about Wat Hat Mun Krabua to a meal of fruit and vegetables, hoping that the primates would become more friendly toward the state.
With the monkey problem hopefully solved, provincial elections chief Prayoon Chakkrapatcharakul said his office would turn its attention to achieving a high voter turnout.
“Pichit province expects at least 80 percent of people will come out to exercise their right to vote,” he said.
Naturally, the monkey attack became a trending topic of discussion and sparked online memes among critics of the junta.
Some teasingly challenged the regime to prosecute the monkeys, in line with its seemingly zealous enforcement of the referendum law, which criminalized any vandalism of voting equipment and any campaigning deemed to “mislead” the public into voting yes or no.
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