BANGKOK — Less than two hours before polls close, a leading polling monitoring organization said it’s not confident there won’t be foul play in Sunday’s election many are already doubtful about.
Vice president of P-Net, the People’s Election Network, Laddawan Tantivitayapitak, noted election irregularities reported by some of its 600 volunteer observers nationwide and expressed concern about the Election Commission’s efficiency as the nation goes to vote for the first time after five years of military rule.
“I’m still reluctant to say I’m confident this [election] will be in order,” she said.
The majority of the problems involved election workers at many polling stations who failed to follow regulations, which she said might be caused by confusion or lack of experience.
Those include police officers helping voters put their ballots into the ballot boxes, unsynchronized clocks that caused some polling stations to open too early and missing candidate information, which some said they never received from the commission.
LIVE: Hear about reported voting irregularities from P-Net election monitor group VP Laddawan Tantivitayapitak
Although Laddawan said she believes these were “unintentional mistakes,” she’s worried they might miss problems that are more serious due to a lack of observers.
“Our concern is that they don’t have poll watch to witness and observe in the polling stations. It could be a loophole for people to make mistakes or fraud,” she said in an interview with Khaosod English. “This can become very serious. If it happened in many polling stations, it won’t be just small mistakes.”
Unconfirmed reports of voting irregularities came in from across the nation. In perhaps the most serious, a video news report suggested improper vote manipulation by the army. In a Thairath TV reporter’s clip, a military officer is seen inside the polling area watching each of his subordinate vote in Bangkok’s Phaya Thai district.
Police said they were investigating possible vote-buying in several provinces.
In Korat, one voter wrote online that officials had covered up a Future Forward candidate at the polling station, saying she had been “disqualified.”
Laddawan also expressed disappointment that foreign observers from the European Union were not invited to participate to help ensure that the election will be free and fair.
“I think this present Election Commission, they don’t realize the importance of people’s participation. Not only from outside, even inside the country,” she said.
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the Future Forward Party, casts his vote Sunday in Bangkok. Photo: Julladit Onlamoon / Associated Press
BANGKOK — Voters were heading to the polls Sunday in the country’s first election since the military ousted an elected government in a 2014 coup.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the army chief who led the coup, is hoping to extend his hold on power after engineering a new political system that aims to stifle the influence of big political parties not aligned with the military.
About 51 million Thais are eligible to vote. Leaders of political parties opposed to military rule have urged a high turnout as the only way to derail Prayuth’s plans.
The junta leader was among the first to vote in the Thai capital Bangkok, arriving in a Mercedes, after polling booths opened at 8 a.m.
Speaking to reporters after casting his ballot, Prayuth said, “I hope everyone helps each other by going to vote today as it’s everyone’s right.”
The election is the latest chapter in a nearly two-decade struggle between conservative forces including the military and the political machine of Thaksin Shinawatra, a tycoon who upended tradition-bound Thailand’s politics with a populist political revolution.
Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 military coup and now lives in exile abroad to avoid a prison term, but parties allied with him have won every election since 2001. His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who led the government that was ousted in 2014, also fled the country after what supporters said was a politically motivated corruption prosecution.
Thailand’s powerful King Maha Vajiralongkorn issued a statement on the eve of the election that said the role of leaders is stop “bad people” from gaining power and causing chaos.
Invoking a speech by his father, the previous Thai king who died in 2016 after reigning for seven decades, Vajiralongkorn said not all citizens can be transformed into good people so leaders must be given support in ruling to create a peaceful nation.
He urged government officials, soldiers and civil servants to look after national security.
It was the monarch’s second notable intervention in politics recently. Last month, he demanded his sister Princess Ubolratana Mahidol withdraw as a prime ministerial candidate for a small Thaksin-allied party within 24 hours of her announcement.
One of the first people to vote, 92-year-old Prabha Svarachorn, echoed the royal statement.
“I come to vote whenever there is an election,” she said. “I think it’s our duty to vote for good people. I would like people to come to vote.”
Political parties and their main leaders held their final major rallies on Friday evening in Bangkok.
Sudarat Keyuraphan, leader of the main pro-Thaksin party, Pheu Thai, said it would fight to overcome constitutional hurdles erected against it by Prayuth’s regime.
“In 2014, they took power with the barrel of a gun, by a coup,” she said. “In 2019, they are trying to take away the people’s power again through crooked regulations under the constitution.”
Concerns about a slowing economy under Prayuth’s rule have been an issue in the campaign. Sudarat told the crowd, “Every time we come back, the economy improves, right?”
When it seized power in 2014, the military said it was to end political unrest that had periodically turned violent and disrupted daily life and the economy. The claim has been a major selling point for Prayuth.
Junta leader-cum-Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha casts his vote at a polling station March 24 in Bangkok. Photo: Gemunu Amarasinghe / Associated Press
The kingdom is holding its first election in five years on Sunday, with nearly 80 political parties contesting the ballot. The polls are open 8am to 5pm, check here if you’re not sure where to vote. Khaosod English reporters are at locations throughout the capital all day today to bring updates from the field. Find all of our election coverage at KhaosodEnglish.com.
That’s a wrap. The parties are reluctant to speak in detail until everything’s final and some burning questions get answered – or not – when the Election Commission delivers its report on the outcome, warts and all, which has been delayed from tonight to 2pm on Monday.
11:10pm
Phalang Pracharat offers “a special thank you to election officials for conducting a smooth election” in comments from their party headquarters. Party chairman Uttama Savanayana says he is not worried about complaints filed to the Election Commission about irregularities today.
10:50pm
LIVE: Pheu Thai party sec-gen Phumtham Wechayachai insists that whoever wins the most seats should be allowed to form a government in brief comments delivered from party headquarters just before 11pm in Bangkok.
“We insist the party who won the most seats should have the right to form a govt first,” Phumtham said.
He said there were many irregularities that need to be sorted out before any results are finalized: “Since the EC has not insisted on giving a final count, we will wait.”
10:35pm Adding to the confusion on election night is the unstable vote counts offered by the Election Commission. One minute a certain party may win 7 million votes, another minute the tally dropped to 6 million before rising again minutes later.
Like many other irregularities during the election day, the commission gave no explanation on the disparities. But it could be a result of a larger problem: errors in reports of tallies sent from local officials.
These results can be outrageously inaccurate, to the point that it was obvious to casual viewers. In a Sukhothai constituency there was about 200 percent turnout. Total ballots count were also larger than those present for voting in Nakhon Sawan and Korat.
Although these errors appear to be eventually corrected, they are sure to feed suspicions of unfair voting even further.
10:25pm
We’re awaiting press conferences from Phalang Pracharath and Pheu Thai before calling it a night.
10:20pm There’s a lot of buzz on social media about the number of spoiled/invalid ballots, about 1.7 million of them across the country.
Although that’s doubtless a high number – more than what many parties received in total – millions of spoiled ballots are common in past elections. In 2011, there were more than 3 million invalidated ballots.
9:51pm
Abhisit Vejjajiva, former prime minister and leader of Thailand’s oldest political part, has reportedly resigned to “take responsibility” for his party’s lackluster showing.
9:50pm
Just as some people thought the worst was over, Election Commission had yet another surprise up its sleeve. Its chairman abruptly announced final results won’t be announced tonight, despite having pledged to do so for months.
Election Commission chairman Itthiporn Boonprakong gave no explanation to the bizarre decision. He simply said a news conference will be held 10am tomorrow and then walked off the stage.
He also said voter turnout was about 66 percent, somewhat lower than the last election in 2011. He went on to give numbers of overseas voters, early voters and complaints received during the election.
Itthiporn left the news conference without any apology for numerous mishaps in the voting procedures.
In response to the change of mind, Future Forward canceled its news conference set for 10pm as the result was not confirmed.
9:43pm
Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha thanked everyone involved in organizing the election and those who went out to vote, according to his aide Athisit Chainuwat.
Athisit said the junta leader will continue to serve his role until the new government is in place. He made no mention of the latest election results, which placed pro-junta Phalang Pracharath over its rival Pheu Thai.
7:49pm Observers use flashlights to monitor vote counting at a polling station in the Sai Mai district of Bangkok. Lighting issues were reported in several constituencies.
7:05pm
Todd: We have enough votes counted to start talking about results – let the punditry begin! Pheu Thai in the lead – expected. Phalang Pracharath such a close second – expected? Future Forward is doing very well for a novice party, I think all would agree. Performing with voters is much more than having deep pockets. Is anyone else a little surprised that Bhumjaithai is showing so strong? The power of the Weed Block?
Asaree: I think the power of the gray vote. Phalang Pracharath’s strong second is higher than I expected, at least. Those of us living online in our internet bubbles who saw mostly anti-Prayuth sentiment came out today and saw voters at the actual polls were, well, old. At four polling stations today, I noticed that not only were the elderly vigilant in voting, there were generational differences from the young, even within families.
Todd: It’s easier to click shares and reactions on social media than vote; young people around the world are famous for not showing up when it counts.
Chayanit: Bhumjaithai surprisingly was No. 1 in several provinces and it could arguably be thanks to their strong progressive stands on cannabis. They’ve promised big money in families’ pockets! That’s a big selling point!
Teeranai: Everyone’s had good and bad news. Pheu Thai will sigh in relief to see itself in the lead, but Phalang Pracharat is not too far behind, which might mean another term for the junta leader. “Futuristas” will definitely whoop in delight, but like Pheu Thai, its chance to rule is not yet clear. On-the-fence Bhumjaithai will likely be the winner either way. The worst of the bad news probably goes to Democrats: many supporters seem to find new homes in the Phalang Pracharat and the even-more hardline Action Coalition of Thailand.
Todd: Let’s do some hot-takes. What can we prematurely declare today has said about Thailand in 2019? Bonus points for drawing grand conclusions. I’ll go first: The Democrats are toast, collapsed into a quantum singularity of irrelevance by their own identity crisis.
Lobsang: Should the final results resemble these, it is likely that we will see a fragile government as some observers have pointed out, one in which incumbent Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha will head a majority backed by the senate appointed by his ruling junta.
Pravit: Poor voters in Bangkok who used to vote for the Democrats seem to have abandoned them for pro-junta Phalang Pracharath. It seems the welfare cards for the poor promoted so strongly by the military government paid off. Future Forward seemed to gain a windfall in the many constituencies where Pheu Thai had no game because Thai Raksa Chart was disbanded.
6:58pm
In the capital, where pro-establishment parties have historically done well, the numbers are skewed from the national results. With 38 percent of votes counted, the parties rank as follows in Bangkok:
Outrage is breaking out online after the Election Commission said the entire batch of 1,500 overseas votes cast in New Zealand did not arrive in time to be counted, rendering them void. The plane carrying the ballots left New Zealand on Friday, but a series of flight transfers and delays prevented them from arriving in Thailand by 5pm, commissioner Jarungvith Phumma said at a news conference.
6:40pm
Future Forward leaders Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and Piyabutr Saengkanokkul thanked their supporters at the party’s headquarters for their votes. Future Forward is currently running fourth in early returns.
6:16pm A reporter for Thai PBS says an official at a polling station in Bangkok counted a ballot for Phalang Pracharath as valid even though it was marked incorrectly.
6pm LIVE: See votes counted at a polling place in northern Bangkok where one woman hopes pro-junta party Phalang Pracharath will triumph over the “termites.”
Vote counting in Bangkok on Sunday.
Reporters Asaree Thaitrakulpanich and Chayanit Itthipongmaetee were at the Chonniwet Village polling station near Prachaniwet junction, where officials counted votes as concerned locals – mostly elderly voters – looked on.
One poll worker picks up a ballot and reads out the voting code for the chosen party while another repeats the code and tallies it on a hanging poster.
“People around here are mature and educated,” Natcha Benjaporn, 72, said. She said both she and her husband had voted for “the party with the most votes right now” because it would make the country “peaceful … we have a bright future.”
The Chonniwet Village polling sheet had the Phalang Pracharat party in the clear lead.
She said other parties were “NATO.”
“No action, talk only. A lot of parties talk but they couldn’t do it,” she said. “At least we don’t have termites to take out all the goodies from the country.”
5:34pm
Pheu Thai PM candidate Sudarat Keyuraphan hugs a supporter at her party headquarters, minutes after several pollsters predict her party as the winner.
5:45pm
Very early returns are coming in. We’re waiting for them to crest over a couple percent of votes cast.
5:27pm Reporters Chayanit Itthipongmaetee and Asaree Thaitrakulpanich are now at Phalang Pracharath Party headquarters on Ratchadaphisek Road.
After polls closed at 5pm, a thick scrum of reporters gathered for news, but party leaders appeared to speak briefly for a little over two minutes to thank people for their votes.
“This is a changing point in Thai society,” party leader Uttama Saowanayon said. “Thank you for every vote that put trust in Phalang Pracharath.”
Asked if he was confident the party would win enough seats to form a government, Uttama replied, “Let’s wait for the results together. We will probably be seeing more of each other soon.”
5:20pm
From the completely anecdotal department: Our reporter at a polling station at the Washiratham Satit School in Phra Kanong said the ballot boxes closed and counting began within minutes after polls closed at 5pm. Jintamas reported overhearing “a lot of votes counted for Future Forward, Phalang Pracharath” here.
5:11pm A fuller accounting from the Suan Dusit Poll has forecast Pheu Thai will win 173 of 500 seats in parliament, Phalang Pracharat 96, Democrats 88, Future Forward 49, Bhumjaithai 40 and Seri Ruam Thai 17.
The pollster said it surveyed 79,521 voters across Thailand up to two days prior to Election Day. It did not cite its methodology or margin of error.
Just In: Super Poll also released its own forecast, which appeared similar to that of Suan Dusit: 163 seats for Pheu Thai, 96 for Phalang Pracharath, 77 for Democrats, 40 for Future Forward and 14 for Seri Ruam Thai.
We’ll find out in a few hours how well these polling agencies did, but their failure to disclose basic information essential to professional polling is not encouraging.
5:10pm The Pheu Thai Party was the top choice of voters in a last-minute, pre-election poll kept under wraps until voting ended at 5pm today.
The Suan Dusit Poll, conducted two days before the election, found Phalang Pracharat in second followed by the Democrat Party in third. It was based on a poll of 70,000 voters. It did not publicize the poll’s margin of error or methodology.
While Pheu Thai has trended atop most recent polls, another just out from Bangkok University said the most voters favored Phalang Pracharat. It was conducted Wednesday. Bangkok University’s previous poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
5pm
That’s it. Polls are closed. Expect exit polling any moment.
An armed patrol in Yala province.
4:58pm
It seems Thailand’s most-restive region was at peace on Election Day. No violence was reported throughout the day in the three southern border provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, where suspected separatists stage attacks on security forces nearly every day.
A high security presence was in place to keep order. Local officials expect voter turnout to be over 80 percent.
4:56pm On a lighter note, a Kim Jong-Un impersonator recently kicked out of Vietnam voted today in Samut Prakan. The Supreme Leader, whose real name is Uthen Lueangsaengthong, urged the new government to improve the economy and preserve national unity.
Thailand’s Kim Jong-Un speaks to the media in Samut Prakan.
4:50pm Live: Interview with ANFREL head of mission Rohana Nishanta Hettiarachchie
The only international monitoring group, ANFREL, was able to deploy a paltry 34 observers to the thousands of polling stations nationwide. Head of mission Rohana Nishanta Hettiarachchie gave the process of today’s election a rough credibility score of “80 percent.”
“With our limited observations, it went in an acceptable manner today,” he said. “There were no big barriers for voters to come and exercise their rights to vote.”
ANFREL will host a news conference at 6pm.
4:42pm
As if anticipating trouble, deputy police commissioner Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said protests against the results of today’s election would be dealt with severely. He said police have prepared space to jail up to 1,000 people in case protests break out.
Srivara said any unauthorized protests would violate the Public Assembly Act.
4:30pm
Tune in shortly when we go live with Rohana Nishanta Hettiarachchie, the head of mission for ANFREL, the Asian Network for Free Elections. We’ll ask what their monitors have reported from the field today.
4:29pm
Just half an hour to go before the last votes are cast. Election Commissioner Jarungvith Phumma announced they have received 57 complaints of vote-buying, though he added that they would have to be investigated and verified.
He also said 10 people were arrested for damaging ballots.
The Election Commission will hold a news conference at 6pm, an hour after polls close, with the chairman to announce preliminary results some time between 8pm and 9pm, Jarungvith said.
4:11pm Among first-time voters today was a man who wouldn’t have been able to due his stateless status.
Mong Thongdee, who soared to fame in 2009 after leading Thailand to victory in an international paper airplane competition, posted online that he finally got to vote as a Thai citizen.
Born to undocumented Burmese immigrants, Mong fought since the age of 12 to win Thai citizenship. His struggle won the support of many, who argued the student should be granted citizenship to contribute his skills to the country; Mong was once forced to turn down an invitation to represent Thailand in Japan at another paper plane tournament.
Mong, now 21, was made a citizen in August. He now coaches other paper plane enthusiasts.
4:10pm An election official in Korat said a profile of a Future Forward candidate that had been covered up was the result of “a misunderstanding.”
Sirichai Viriyapong said staff at the polling station immediately removed the white paper from the candidate’s portrait as soon as they realized there was a mistake. An inquiry committee will look into the incident to determine how it happened, Sirichai said.
Staff at the booth also incorrectly told voters the candidate was disqualified from the race, prompting fury from party supporters online.
4pm
There’s only one hour left to vote. Alcohol sales will resume at 6pm, giving those looking to celebrate a couple hours to raise their spirits before preliminary results are announced. Our reporters are moving to be in place to report live from the headquarters of the Phalang Pracharath, Future Forward and Pheu Thai parties.
Officials negotiate with protesters in Tak province Sunday.
3:42pm Elections may be a time for the public to air its grievances, but what happened in Tak province might have exceeded expectations.
More than 300 residents of two communities in the Umphang district gathered to announce they would not vote because the authorities have repeatedly ignored requests to bring electricity to their homes.
Soldiers and local officials quickly arrived at the protest and attempted to negotiate with the group. Reports say some were satisfied with the fresh promises and went to the polls while others remained at the rally.
Despite the introduction of electricity to Thailand over 80 years ago, some communities remain off the national grid. Two villages in Trang and Korat complained to the media about similar problems just last year.
3:30pm An entire family of three couldn’t vote today because officials couldn’t find them registered anywhere.
Petcharat Champadaeng, 55, told reporters they had recently moved districts in Bangkok from Sathorn to Sai Mai. At the polling station in Sai Mai today, officials told him his name wasn’t found in database of either district. He filed a complaint with the Election Commission.
3:24pm Just in from Khaosod English staff writer Jintamas Saksornchai, who is in the field with senior staff writer Pravit Rojanaphruk:
3:19pm
One concerned internet user reports that a voting booth at the Wat Inthrawat School was arranged with voting booths facing the street, where any passers-by could see how voters marked their ballots.
3:05pm Less than two hours before polls close, a celebrity actor stirred controversy when he posted a picture of his folded ballot from inside the voting booth to Instagram.
“An important day for us all,” Toni Rakkaen, actor and model, wrote in English under the photo. He deleted the photo soon after comments pointed out that doing so is illegal.
2:51pm A video news report seemed to catch the army red-handed in improper vote manipulation. Although the armed forces maintains their servicemen were not compelled to vote for any party, a short video report by Thairath TV appears to tell a different story.
In the video, an officer was seen peeking into the voting booth to see how his men marked their ballots at a polling station in Bangkok’s Phaya Thai district. It appeared to directly contradict army chief Gen. Apirat Kongsompong’s pledge that military officers will not be allowed inside voting stations. Watch the report here:
2:40pm Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha is reported to be golfing in northern Bangkok. Reporters were barred from entering the clubhouse.
Sources inside the junta say Prayuth will join his deputies Prawit Wongsuwan and Anupong Paojinda later this evening at the 1st King’s Guard Division base to watch results come in.
2:20pm
Watch our LIVE report about reported voting irregularities from P-Net election monitor group VP Laddawan Tantivitayapitak.
Speaking to Khaosod English, the vice president of poll monitoring group P-Net said widespread irregularities could take place due to the very small number of observers in the field.
“Our concern is that they don’t have poll watch to witness and observe in the polling stations. It could be a loophole for people to make mistakes or fraud,” Laddawan Tantivitayapitak said. “This can become very serious. If it happened in many polling stations, it won’t be just small mistakes.”
While there are about 90,000 polling stations in the country, Laddawan’s organization can only field 600 observers. She said they will have to be “mobile.”
She also criticized the Election Commission for seemingly shutting the door to foreign observers from the European Union.
“I think this present Election Commission, they don’t realize the importance of people’s participation. Not only from outside, even inside the country,” Laddawan said.
2:17pm
The election is a high priority for many, including a woman in Satun province who showed up in her wedding dress to vote before she ties the knot later today.
“I want a husband, and I also want to vote,” Wissanee Changlek wrote in a post, which has been shared more than 7,000 times.
Some physicians also shared tales online about approving brief leaves for patients to go vote. In one online post, a doctor said an entire ward under her care had left to go vote.
2:13pm We will be going live soon with election observers from the People’s Network for Elections, aka P-Net, to find out what reports they’re hearing from the field.
Dogs hand out candy to keep their throats fresh for the pre-election “Night of the Howling Dogs” in a cartoon published by Manager newspaper.
1:50pm Election days are typically preceded by what Thais call “The Night of the Howling Dogs” in reference to the night after bans on political campaigning come to effect. It’s the time when the most furious vote-buying is alleged to take place.
The term itself refers to mysterious strangers going door to door to hand out money, causing dogs in each village to howl at the visitors.
The Election Commission said its officers worked with police all over the country last night to stop it. Two local officials arrested today in Nakhon Pathom were accused of buying votes last night (see below). Deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul says similar cases are being investigated in Kalasin and Korat provinces.
1:45pm Widespread anxiety among junta opponents is that the vote counting may lack transparency. In a viral post, an actress-columnist took extreme measures by posting a prayer to the gods to protect her marked ballot.
“May I call upon all the deities in the heavens; every reincarnation of Lord Buddha; Lord Vishanu; Devi Shakti; Odin, the Father of All Things; Allah the Almighty; to bear witness,” Inthira Charoenpura wrote with a picture of the ballot box. “If anyone attempts to amend any word in these ballots … may karma haunt them and their families for generations.”
1:42pm Reporters Asaree Thaitrakulpanich and Chayanit Itthipongmaetee continue their tour of voting locations with this live report.
1:40pm
A torn ballot in Lamphun province.
It appears that tearing ballots is a trend this election. Six people have been arrested so far since polls opened today for damaging their ballots, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
First there were heavily intoxicated men in Lamphun and Samut Songkhram provinces. One of them said he got in a fight with local election workers after he couldn’t find the number of the party he wanted to vote for. Another said he had been drinking since 5pm yesterday and couldn’t make sense of things when he arrived at the polling station.
Some also misunderstood that they must separate the ballots into two parts, one of which they can bring home with them.
Those guilty of destroying voting equipment – ballots included – can be banned from politics up to 10 years.
1:30pm
The Phattamapornpong family came out to vote together Sunday at a polling station near the CentralWorld shopping mall.
Between Siam Paragon and CentralWorld was a subdued polling station at the Wat Pathum Wanaram School. Duangnet Phattamapornpong, a 39-year-old mother of five, her husband and their son first-time voter son Kittisak Phumiphat, 20, spent Sunday using their voice as a family.
Both mother and son said they focused on economic issues, though they voted for different parties.
“He can pick whoever he wants, and I can pick whoever I want. He has his opinions, and I have mine. Mai pen rai,” the mom said.
Kittisak urges his peers to come out and vote with less than four hours left on the clock.
“I wanna tell my friends to come and exercise their rights, so the country will be better,“ he said.
1:26pm While campaigning is banned everywhere today, one netizen says he saw name cards of a Phalang Pracharat Party candidate being dumped in the streets close to a voting station on Bangkok’s Rama IV Road today. Video here.
12:56pm Student activist Parit Chiwarak wears a paper bag to vote “in shame.” Parit, an outspoken critic of the junta, said he felt ashamed this election is neither free nor fair, and also criticized the Election Commission for its many mishaps.
“I’m very disappointed for waiting and calling for this election for so many years, so I can vote for the first time,” Parit wrote online. “Yet the government and the EC did not organize the election in a free, transparent and fair manner.”
The activist has said he would vote for the Pheu Thai Party, which led the government ousted five years ago in a coup.
12:48pm
Two men, one vote? A voter in Ubon Ratchathani told the media he went to cast his vote this morning only to be told he had already voted. A closer inspection revealed another man had used what appeared to be an ID card with his name to vote 30 minutes earlier.
Rerai Laobutsri, 39, suspected someone committed voting fraud under his name.
“I want justice. I’m born here, and I work here … I want to exercise my right to vote,” Rerai told reporters.
A police officer said he has asked election officials to file a criminal complaint to local police so they can investigate the case and find the perpetrators.
He was not allowed to cast a ballot.
Rerai Laobutrsi, seated, said someone else voted under his name.
12:39pm
Ethnic Karens line up to vote on Thailand’s northern edge, in Tak province. Officials say nearly 100 percent of the Karen community registered to vote there have already cast their ballots.
Karen voters Sunday in Tak province.
12:01pm
More VIPs showed up to vote, from politicians and actors to famous sportsmen.
Phalang Pracharath leader Uttama Savanayana.
Uttama Savanayana votes Sunday in Bangkok.
Pheu Thai prime minister candidate Sudarat Keyuraphan.
Sudarat Keyuraphan votes Sunday in Bangkok.
Democrat chairman Abhisit Vejjajiva
Abhisit Vejjajiva votes Sunday in Bangkok.
Chart Pattana leader Suwat Liptapanlop
Suwat Liptapanlop votes Sunday in Korat.
Badminton champion Ratchanok “May” Intanon
Ratchanok Intanon votes Sunday in Bangkok.
Deputy police commissioner Srivara Ransibrahmanakul and his daughter
Srivara Ransibrahmanakul, right, and his daughter at a polling station Sunday in Bangkok.
Superstar actress Urassaya “Yaya” Sperbund
Urassaya “Yaya” Sperbund votes Sunday in Khon Kaen.
Celeb actor Nadech Kugimiya
Nadech Kugimiya votes Sunday in Khon Kaen.
Thai football legend Kiatisuk “Zico” Senamuang
Kiatisuk “Zico” Senamuang votes Sunday in Bangkok.
A former local administrator Surapol Polchim rode his horse Sam to a polling station in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Phimai district before casting his ballot.
“I’d like to encourage everyone to practice their rights in this election,” he said.
Surapol added that he wanted Sam with him on Election Day as he used to ride him to patrol his neighborhood while he was working at the office.
Surapol Polchim rides his horse Sam on Sunday in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
11:53am
A blind voter is escorted to a polling station in Udon Thani. Special ballot papers printed in Braille are handed out to blind voters. They can also choose to have an official at the booths to mark the ballots on their behalf.
A blind voter in Udon Thani province.
11:45am
Police show money they reportedly confiscated from Kampol Permpoon in Nakhon Pathom.
Police say they have arrested two men involved in a voting-buying scheme west of Bangkok in Nakhon Pathom. According to police, one suspect is a kamnan, or local administrator, named Charn Homprong. They said he was found with up to 16,000 baht in cash and a list of voters he had paid.
Another was a top district official named Kampol Permpoon, who was reportedly arrested with 2,000 baht in cash.
Both denied all allegations, police said, without identifying which party they were allegedly affiliated with.
11:38am
A veteran election observer, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said some voters were unaware they needed to mark an “X” on the ballot for it to be valid. The observer added that some provided pens reportedly didn’t work.
11:30am Road accidents in Thailand are so prevalent that even polling stations aren’t immune. A car crashed into one such venue in Ratchaburi province this morning, injuring several voters.
Voting continues at a polling station in Ratchaburi even after a car slammed into the venue.
Wachara Petchkruea, 27, said he was approaching a curve close to the polling station when he skid off it, struck a motorcycle and crashed into the voting venue. Police promptly arrested him and charged him with reckless driving resulting in injuries. Voting resumed immediately after the incident.
11:22am
Lamphun city police said a man has been arrested and charged with destroying a ballot. The police said the man was drunk and tore the ballot as he was in a quarrel with local election workers after he couldn’t find the number of the party he wanted to vote for.
11:17am The first major voting irregularity was reported in Korat. A voter posted online that officials had covered up a profile of Future Forward’s candidate at the polling station, saying she had been “disqualified.” In fact, no disqualification took place.
The claim could not be independently verified.
The alleged incident came a day after pro-junta Facebook pages spread rumors that party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkij was barred from the race because he owned shares in the media. Thanathorn later posted that the news was not true, since he already gave up all his shares months ago.
11:20am Asaree: The Boonwiratchaphan family said they came to a downtown polling station at the tobacco authority to exercise their rights, with different generations voting for different parties, but all with the same concern in mind – the economy.
“The past five years, Thailand has been in a terrible crisis, whether economically, politically or socially,” Srima, 31, said. “I think the party I chose will develop the country for the better.”
Srima’s 80-year old grandma Rattana interjected that she would not choose a party that had people “burning down the city.”
“It’s been terrible for the past five years. A crisis,” Rattana echoed her granddaughter about the economy. “I chose someone that will make the country peaceful.”
The generational difference won’t translate into divisions at home, both Rattana and Srima insist.
“Well, there’s disagreement. Naturally younger people want to see the country change and develop. But in our home, we stand by the idea that you can have your own political views, but that doesn’t mean we’re broken apart.”
11:15am After polls close at 5pm, all ballots will be combined with those cast in early voting and overseas elections then counted together. Counting will take place at each district office in Bangkok. They will be tabulated locally and fed to the Election Commission via a smartphone app called Rapid Report by local polling station workers.
The Election Commission has said preliminary results based on 95 percent of counted ballots will be available about four hours after polls close, or 9pm. The winners of the election should be clear at that point. However, the results will not be formally endorsed until early May, depending on whether there are any voting violations deemed to disqualify any candidates.
Although they won’t be directly published online, numerous media outlets have been linked into the vote-counting system and will share them live this evening. A live feed will also show on a large screen at the Election Commission’s headquarters.
10:50am
Officials cross a flooding at a polling station in Ubon Ratchathani.
The most-felt voter suppression today so far appears to be the weather. Rainstorms struck Ubon Ratchathani early this morning, flooding several polling stations and forcing many to stay home.
The Election Commission in Lampang also urged voters to come out and vote early as a storm is forecast to bear down later in the afternoon.
10:40am
Asaree Thaitrakulpanich and Chayanit Itthipongmaetee are live from a polling station at the former Thailand Tobacco Monopoly in Bangkok.
10:36am
An official showed the crowd the ballot box was empty before voting began in Nakhon Sawan.Pattani voters pose as they wait in line to vote.Hundreds of students arrive at a polling station at a university in Maha Sarakham province.Phayao Gov: Narongsak Osotthanakorn is third in line at a polling station there.The red-light district in Pattaya was silent early Sunday morning as a booze ban was in effect.
10:20am
ANFREL is one of two groups seeking to deploy monitors today. The other is a domestic group called P-Net – the People’s Network for Elections. Election observers have been routine fixtures of past polls, but this year they faced considerable resistance to participating. The foreign minister went so far as to say foreign observers would be an affront to the kingdom’s dignity. As we reported earlier this month, P-Net complained it had been denied funds and accreditation by elections officials. None of these developments fostered confidence in the integrity of the vote. On the eve of the vote, both organizations said they had been accredited at the last minute.
10:12am
Two hours in, voting appears to be going smoothly in most places, though there are complaints of polling stations in Korat using unsynchronized clocks – resulting in uneven opening times. Some voters are also confused about whether they have to sign their full names or only provide a signature on their ballot booklets, as instructions seem to vary from station to station.
A clock hangs over a polling station in Korat.
10:08am
The Asian Network for Free Elections is fielding 34 observers today. They have set up at a hotel in downtown Bangkok and have fielded monitors to a number of provinces including Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani and Ratchaburi.
10:03am
Polling station worker Tossaporn Noomnok, in white, at Wat Noi Nang Hong in Bangkok.
Jintamas: At a rather empty polling station at Wat Noi Nang Hong in Bangkok’s Bang Phlat district, Tossaporn Noomnok, a local election worker stands by a board listing the names of voters. He said it had been very packed earlier in the morning.
“Everything has been going smoothly so far. No problems at all,” he said.
A man approached seconds later to complain that the names of his daughter and son weren’t on the rolls there. Tossaporn, who said he has managed voting at least four times, flatly told him to contact other staff inside the polling tent.
Asked if these people would get to vote, he said no.
9:57am
Army chief Apirat Kongsompong votes in Bangkok, while hundreds of soldiers arrived at a polling station in the military neighborhood of Kiak Kai.
The armed forces have come under intense scrutiny from the opposition, not the least because of Gen. Apirat’s bellicose rhetoric against junta critics. There are also accusations that soldiers are being forced by their commanders to vote for a pro-junta party, though the military denies this.
Gen. Apirat Kongsompong votes Sunday in Bangkok.Soldiers queue up to vote in Kiak Kai.
9:46am
Don’t even think about taking selfies while voting! The Election Commission bans taking any photos once you cross the lines into a polling station. Campaigning is also banned on Election Day, and that extends to wearing clothing that bears the logos of political parties.
“After you mark your ballot, do not take a photo of it. Don’t take a selfie with your ballot,” Election Commissioner Jaroongvith Phumma told the media yesterday. “If you want a photo to mark the occasion, please take the photo in front of your polling station.”
The yellow tape marks where the polling station boundary begins.
9:43am
A temple in the capital district of Lat Phrao was turned into a voting station.
Voting is underway at a Lat Phrao Temple.Voting is underway at a Lat Phrao Temple.
9:40am
One of the top-trending hashtags on Thai Twitter this morning is #AlreadyGrownUpCanChooseForMyself, used by voters to assert their independence.
9:24am
Before Thais go to the polls today, they were advised last night to vote for “good people” by His Majesty the King himself. A statement attributed to King Vajiralongkorn was read in a televised broadcast citing a famous 1969 quote from his late father, King Bhumibol.
“Please acknowledge an important matter in governance: that there are both good and bad people in our country. No one can turn everyone into good people. In order to ensure normalcy, happiness and order in the country, it is not about turning everyone into good people, but about supporting good people and letting good people rule the country, and preventing bad people from having power or causing unrest.”
It went on to say that His Majesty the King believes the message is for all Thais.
“His Majesty hereby bestows this in order to … remind everyone to apply it as their guideline, for the sake of unity, stability of the country and happiness of the people,” it said.
9:07am
Mostly elderly voters were among the first in line Sunday morning in Bangkok’s Yan Nawa district.
Asaree: Preedee Rachayon, 72, says he put an X down for the party he’s always voted for – although it might differ from how the rest of his family votes.
“It’s up to them. Kids don’t really listen when you talk to them [about politics]. It’s a democracy,” he said, chuckling. “They already know who papa is voting for. So I don’t talk to them too much about it, because they won’t like it.”
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkij votes Sunday morning in Bangkok.
Pheu Thai’s Chadchat Sittipunt.
Chadchart Sittipunt votes Sunday in Bangkok.
8:50am
Celebrities are now marching into the polling stations across the country. They include actresses Pancake Khemanit and Mai Davika.
Mai Davika seen Sunday in Bangkok.Pancake Khemanit seen Sunday in Bangkok.
8:05am
Teeranai: Like elsewhere, queues formed just minutes after polls opened at Joan of Arc School in Bangkok’s No.1 constituency – where I live. Analysts predict it will be a tough contest here, where both leading Pheu Thai and Democrat candidates were incumbent MPs before the current govt merged their two constituencies into one.
8:00am
Polls have opened nationwide. Long queues formed at many polling stations. Several well-known figures headed to their electoral stations to perform their rights, including junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha and Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkij.
BANGKOK — Junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha asked supporters to vote and make him prime minister again during his first and only appearance at a political rally Friday evening, saying he is ready to lead.
Prayuth, who staged the May 2014 military and made himself prime minister appeared for the first time in rally stage of pro-junta Phalang Pracharath Party at the National Stadium as PM candidate.
“I would like to thank Thais who have supported me for, how many years? Five years… I was a soldier, but now I am a citizen. I will do my best. We need someone to lead… I will do it for all Thais,” Prayuth said, looking upbeat before a crowd of more than 10,000 supporters, many bused in from the provinces and taken to designated seating areas.
LIVE Junta leader and PM candidate Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha speaks at the Phalang Pracharath Party rally at the National Stadium
Meanwhile at other Friday rallies, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of Future Forward Party, vowed to be a prime minister for Thais of all political strides. Pheu Thai Party prime minister candidate Chatchart Sittiphan expressed confidence for a Pheu Thai victory come Sunday and Democrat Party Deputy Leader Korn Chatikavanij said his party is ready to be the third choice for voters.
Admitting there are both people who like and dislike him, Prayuth vowed to work “for all Thais”.
He said in a seven-minute campaign speech that he wants to see through the future of Thailand for the next 20 years to improve the livelihood of the people.
At Thai-Japan Stadium, Thanathorn – who before entering politics was a board member of Matichon Group, which owns Khaosod English – vowed to become prime minister not just for the Redshirts or Yellowshirts, but for all Thais.
“I am not saying everyone should naively reconcile and forget past injustices. We can’t force everyone to think alike,” the billionaire politician said.
In Hong Kong, ousted and fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra predicted a victory for “our side,” a reference to the anti-junta Pheu Thai party. Thaksin made the prediction during the wedding reception speech of his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Pidok Sooksawas on Friday night at the Rosewood Hong Kong Hotel.
In a related development, Election Commission secretary general Jarungvith Phumma said the unofficial results of the general elections should be known by 9pm on Sunday.
In this July 27, 2016, file photo, then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at Trump National Doral in Florida. Photo: Evan Vucci / Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The manila envelope in her hand held a single sheet of paper.
Wearing a black puffer coat, the woman and her delivery were so unassuming in appearance that she was able to quietly slip past the crowd of reporters gathered in the hallways of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Without being noticed, she was able to deliver to Congress the simple envelope that contained a monumental message: Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference into the 2016 election was over.
The probe had taken nearly two years and imperiled a presidency. It divided Washington, delivered charges against 34 people and drew the wrath of President Donald Trump. Speculation about its findings, and when they would be delivered, had consumed Washington for weeks. Fittingly for Mueller, who never once spoke publicly about the probe, the investigation concluded in a by-the-book, under-the-radar manner.
___
Before dawn, television crews and photographers began lining the sidewalk outside Mueller’s Washington office.
The stakeout had grown as the week went on and the speculation mounted. The media frenzy only grew after Mueller, who is rarely spotted outside his office, was photographed arriving just after 7 a.m. Thursday with his face hidden underneath a baseball cap as he pulled up to the office’s parking garage in a gray Subaru.
On Friday, the wind whipped as the journalists kept their eyes peeled on the office’s three different garage entrances. Families and tourists visiting Washington stopped over and over to ask the crowd of photographers and videographers what they were waiting for, some amazed they were right in the middle of a story that had dominated news coverage around the world.
In suburban Virginia, a crowd of journalists gathered outside Attorney General William Barr’s house with their eyes glued on the forest-green front door of his home. As he emerged Friday morning, his keys in one hand and a brown satchel in the other, Barr greeted his security detail and hopped into the back of a waiting SUV in his driveway.
He didn’t address the group of reporters gathered across the street.
___
As the afternoon dragged on, reporters in newsrooms across Washington and onlookers around the globe furiously refreshed their Twitter feeds and stared at cable channels looking for anything labeled “This Just In.”
Television bookers lined up experts days in advance and told them to be on standby in case the report dropped. Twitter users killed time by musing about Mueller as a man with a crippling case of writer’s block, just sitting at his computer with a spinning cursor over a blank document titled, simply, “The Mueller Report.”
“It’s like waiting for a baby to be born,” said Rudy Giuliani, who flew to Washington late Wednesday just in case the report was turned over. “I’ll hand out cigars if it’s good news.”
Giuliani may be the president’s attorney but he wasn’t given any heads-up on the timing; he simply thought he should be near the White House “just in case,” he said.
“I’m watching TV just like everyone else,” Giuliani said.
Even the president was forced to wait without any inside knowledge. As he strode onto the White House South Lawn on his way to Florida on Friday morning, he told waiting reporters that he had “no idea about the Mueller report” and warned again that the investigation was damaging for the country.
As the engines from the idling Marine One helicopter roared, it was hard for reporters to immediately make out everything Trump said, though his repeated declaration of his catchphrase denial of any Russian wrongdoing — “No collusion” — was unmistakable.
Trump was already at his lush Palm Beach estate, a thousand miles from the White House, when the waiting game finally, mercifully, quietly ended.
___
A security officer from Mueller’s office walked into the Justice Department headquarters, just steps from the National Mall, carrying a letter. As established by protocol, the document was to inform the attorney general that Mueller’s work was done.
Within minutes, it was sent to Barr. Around 4:40 p.m., the attorney general’s chief of staff, Brian Rabbitt, spoke to White House counsel Emmet Flood and told him the report was in and read to him a letter that would soon be distributed to House and Senate leaders. Amid the flurry of activity, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein called Mueller to thank him for his work over the last couple of years and expressed his appreciation for him and the team.
At 5 p.m., the woman with the manila envelope arrived on Capitol Hill to deliver the letter to aides on the House and Senate Judiciary committees, which have oversight responsibilities of the department. She delivered the letter to lawyers for Rep. Jerry Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Republican Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia. The lawmakers were back in their home districts.
Nadler’s counsel scanned the letter and sent it to the congressman in New York. Soon after, staff for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the panel, received the letter.
___
Once the news dropped, and cable news stations splashed “Breaking News” chyrons across the television screens, elected official after elected official, some more relevant than others, released statements about the report, many calling for it to be made public immediately. Trump huddled with his attorneys at Mar-a-Lago but, for the moment, held his tongue and Twitter feed.
Friday night, the president and first lady Melania Trump stopped by a Palm Beach County GOP dinner at his resort. Trump spoke for a few minutes but didn’t mention the Mueller report, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details of the event, which was closed to the press. The official said Trump had a separate dinner with his family.
Barr, in a far less glamorous setting, was reviewing Mueller’s report. In a letter to Congress, he said he may be able to provide some updates about the special counsel’s findings as soon as this weekend.
Army chief Gen. Apirat Kongsompong and his officers swear oaths of loyalty on March 7, 2019, in front of a statue of King Rama V at army headquarters in Bangkok.
Sunday’s general election will, at best, return Thailand to a semi-democratic system no matter the results, even with voter euphoria expected to translate into a high turnout.
The outcome is likely to unfold in at least two likely scenarios with deep repercussions, each with their own challenges for democracy.
Scenario 1: The return of coup leader-dictator-prime minister, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, as an “elected” premier.
This is the dream scenario of many army generals, pro-junta supporters and ultraroyalists. It will prove a successful transformation of yet another coup leader and self-appointed prime minister into elected prime minister.
Expect Prayuth to be less dictatorial as he will no longer wield absolute power, although the retired general will probably maintain his penchant for dictating. He will still preside over the 20-year National Strategy Committee, thus compelling state power in his desired direction for two decades. He will have 250 senators mostly selected by him. Prayuth will probably need to entertain coalition partners, and that means compromising on some policies, however.
The bad news is that the junta has at last managed to erect a proper democratic facade through the ballot box while maintaining a lot of power through the appointed senate.
This will encourage younger generals to follow Prayuth’s footsteps, as they have proven lucrative and rewarding. Already, Army Chief Gen. Apirat Kongsompong, himself the son of a former coup leader, won’t rule out staging another coup.
Returning the military to the barracks would be impossible even in the medium-term, as the junta leader and his men have partially transformed Thailand into an elected stratocracy.
Thailand may also immediately be caught in a crisis of legitimacy if the pro-junta coalition only wins a little over 126 MP supports and relies on the Prayuth-selected 250 member upper house to vote Prayuth back to office. Unfair is an understatement in an election contest where one of the leading PM candidates is the man who is selecting virtually all of the senate, which will constitute one-third of the votes that shall decide who gets to become the next prime minister.
Already, the last campaign message on the election posters of pro-junta Phalang Pracharat Party suggest the country will continue to be held hostage: “If you want peace and order … choose uncle Prayuth.”
This scenario will put a heavy burden on Thai citizens who wish to see a quicker return to true democracy.
Scenario 2: Pro-democracy camp forms a government.
While it would be good news for democracy, the new government would almost certainly be a fragile coalition due to election rules rewritten to disadvantage powerful parties. Reforming the army and returning the generals and their men to the barracks will be an uphill battle.
There was little appetite for doing so when Yingluck Shinawatra became prime minister in 2011. She did nothing against then-army chief Prayuth, who took part in the bloody crackdown on Redshirt protesters in 2010. No significant reforms of the armed forces took place under her watch.
Will Pheu Thai and/or Future Forward have the will and the skill to do better?
Both parties have vowed to slash military spending, but more will be needed to ensure coup d’etats become a thing of the past for good.
Some have suggested creating a joint chief of staff system similar to the United States, so the army chief can no longer authorize troop mobilization on a whim. It will definitely take more than just that, as the challenge is to alter the mindset of the public.
If they push too hard, there could be a counter-reaction – and possible coup. If they don’t do anything to reform the army, it will continue to be a state within a state and the coup threat will persist.
Already, on Wednesday, Benya Nandakwang, an MP candidate from pro-junta party Action Coalition for Thailand, predicted a coup in event of an anti-junta camp win.
“Personally, I think if the hell money democracy faction wins the election, eventually there will be another coup. Wanna see it?” Benya wrote on Facebook.
Thailand risks being permanently trapped in the vicious cycle of coups and junta rule, followed by elected governments and paralyzing political crises, followed by more coups if nothing is done to send the soldiers back to the barracks for good.
This is the paramount tasks awaiting after the election for the pro-democracy camp.
The leader of Pheu Thai Party and candidate for prime minister Sudarat Keyuraphan, second from right, and candidates wave during an election rally in Bangkok. Photo: Gemunu Amarasinghe / Associated Press
BANGKOK —Sunday’s election is likely to produce a weak, unstable government whether it’s a civilian or military-backed party that cobbles together a coalition, setting off a new phase of uncertainty in a country that’s a U.S. ally in Southeast Asia and one of the world’s top tourist destinations.
The election is Thailand’s first since its military seized power from an elected government in May 2014. It was the conservative establishment’s third major attempt by either military or legal coup to eradicate the influence of Thaksin Shinawatra, a tycoon who made his fortune in telecommunication and upended Thailand’s politics with a populist political revolution nearly two decades ago.Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who as army chief led the 2014 coup, is hoping to stay in power with a hybrid political system that relies on an appointed Senate and a 20-year national strategic plan to limit the power of political parties not aligned with the military.“It will be unstable,” said Prajak Kongkirati, a political science lecturer at Thammasat University. “Whatever party wins, Prayuth or Thaksin’s side, both governments will be weak and unstable,” he said. “The government can collapse within a year or a year and a half and we might have a new election quite soon.”Prayuth’s five years as junta leader have been marred by complaints of human rights violations and growing economic inequality. Thailand’s ties with the U.S. cooled because of the coup and Prayuth is seeking greater international legitimacy with an election meant to provide the appearance of a return to democracy.If the junta had one success, it was reinforcing its claim to be protector of Thailand’s monarchy, an institution at the heart of Thai society, following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016 after a reign of seven decades and the succession of his son Maha Vajiralongkorn.Critic say the new military-designed political system is intrinsically unstable because it is not accepted by all sides and will be the beginning of a new round of struggle in Thailand.The country’s prime minister will not be directly elected by its 51 million voters. Instead 750 lawmakers — 500 from an elected lower house of parliament and 250 from a junta-appointed Senate — will decide by simple majority. The prime minister does not have to be a member of parliament.None of the major political parties is likely to have enough elected lawmakers to choose a prime minister and form a government outright. Chaotic outcomes, such as a military favored prime minister chosen with Senate backing that lacks a majority in the parliament, are possible.Sunday’s vote is the latest episode in a sometimes violent political struggle that pits Thaksin’s political machine against a conservative establishment led by the ultra-royalist military.Thaksin swept to power in 2001 with social welfare policies aimed at uplifting the majority rural poor. He lives in exile after he was ousted by a 2006 military coup and accused of abuse of power, corruption and self-enrichment. Some saw him as disrespectful to the monarchy.The 2014 coup ousted the government that was led by Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was the head of the Thaksin-allied Pheu Thai party at the time.On Friday, Thaksin hosted a glittering wedding reception in Hong Kong for his youngest daughter, causing a sensation and substantial media and online coverage in Thailand.Guests included the Thai king’s sister Princess Ubolratana Mahidol, who last month made a spectacular but quickly aborted attempt to be a prime ministerial candidate for a small Thaksin-allied party.Though ostensibly a family affair, the ceremony’s timing two days ahead of the election seemed to implicitly say: Don’t forget me and my political allies when you go out to vote.The Pheu Thai party remains broadly popular, especially in the country’s north and northeast, home to the majority of voters, and its current leader Sudarat Keyuraphan has urged all Thais to vote, hoping a high turnout will derail Prayuth’s plans to stay in power.“If Pheu Thai does reach the number needed to form a new government, it is unclear how the military leadership would respond,” said John Ciorciari, a Southeast Asia expert at the University of Michigan.“Regardless of the election result, it is unlikely to put an end to Thailand’s protracted political crisis,” he said.Story: Stephen Wright, additional reporting Grant Peck and Kaweewit Kaewjinda
Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha visits a market in Bangkok Feb. 7, 2019.
It was a routine question for any candidate on the campaign trail.
I was calling out questions to Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, the junta leader running for prime minister, as he walked out of a visit Wednesday to Lumphini Park. He was almost to his vehicle, so I fired off one more.
“If you lose the election, what are you going to do?” I asked.
He stopped walking and turned around with an angry look on his face.
“Who asked that question?” he demanded.
I gently but firmly responded it was me, a member of the media, who wanted to hear the answer. “It’s me, sir,” I told him, raising my hand.
Later, after I filed my report, some other reporters posted the clip of his reaction on social media where it went viral. By the next day, the messages and calls came pouring in. Not of encouragement – but of fear.
“Are you still safe?
“Did his security guards follow you and ask for your personal information?
“Will you be arrested? Will you be sent for ‘attitude adjustment?’”
The consensus seemed to be that I should be afraid of my safety for asking simple questions of the man who wants to lead the nation.
If we look back at the media situation during the past five years since he led a coup, the Thai media climate has become a “Land of Fear” under his rule. Its laws and powers have been used to intimidate the media and the public.
Working as a journalist, I’ve found two issues that create hardship. One was that Thai media cannot criticize the junta. The second is that the junta’s ban on gatherings of more than four people.
Under these conditions, freedom for the media and public has decreased compared to our Southeast Asian neighbors.
As a Thai reporter, it has made my job awkward and forced me to use my diminished freedom as efficiently as possible.
Soon after the coup, a former editor at Thai PBS, where I worked as an investigative journalist, told me to be “less aggressive” because some soldiers were monitoring me “closely.”
I was shocked. I thanked her and said I was just doing my job as a journalist. I also decided I must be doing something right.
Though the military government has made it harder to do our jobs without being arrested, the public seems no less hungry for the truth.
A special report I did on a decade of spending on military hardware, an issue that had been getting attention on social media, got almost a million views within days of going online.
The media should not be working under an atmosphere of fear. Since the junta took over, Thai journalists have lost their nerve and the list of untouchable topics has grown.
As a member of this democracy and a working journalist, my request for whomever leads the country after March 24 is that they please restore freedom to the media and the people.
Give us space to ask questions without being intimidated, threatened, arrested, imprisoned, or forcibly “adjusted.”
If we do wrong or cross ethical lines, we should be entitled to the same rule of law and due process in the civilian justice system without being dragged in front of military tribunals.
Enough is enough.
Hathairat Phaholtap has won numerous awards for her reporting on human rights and justice. A former senior investigative reporter with public broadcaster Thai PBS, she is now an independent journalist.
Laddawan, third from left, speaks Friday at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand.
BANGKOK — A prominent election observer warned Friday that a pro-junta minority government that relied on the votes of the military-appointed senate to make Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha premier would lead to political chaos.
Laddawan Tantivitayapitak, vice president of independent poll observation group P-NET, said Friday the duty of senators is to act as a body of checks and balances, not to select the government.
“I think it will create chaos because they have no legitimacy,” Laddawan said.
The remarks came as Uttama Savanayana, leader of pro-junta Phalang Pracharath Party, said Thursday that its party would immediately seek to form a government, even if it fails to win the majority of lower house seats.
This led to the speculation of a possible minority government, where the pro-junta party would rely on receiving all the votes of the upper house. Under the constitution drafted by the current rubber stamp parliament, the 250-seat senate will be entirely appointed by the military and can vote for the prime minister along with the lower house’s 500 MPs.
“The party which wins the most seats should be the one to form the government,” Laddawan added.
P-Net said at a Friday press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand that it had received a number of complaints and observed how bribes were handed for voters to attend rallies in central Thailand by parties on both sides of the political divide.
“The government approved to allocate an additional 50 percent raise of the village health volunteer allowance just a week before the election and allocated a government budget worth 37.9 billion baht for the [Phalang] Pracharath fund,” P-Net said in a statement.
It urged the Election Commission to investigate the matter.
In a related development, the European Union delegation in Bangkok – which Thai government has not invited to observe the elections – issued a statement Friday afternoon saying it would however mobilize diplomatic staff members to act as “diplomat watch” on Sunday.
“The European Union in Thailand welcomes the holding of elections as a milestone on the country’s path back to democracy and wishes all Thai people a peaceful and meaningful Election Day,” the press statement read.
BANGKOK — On the eve of the general election, a group that shot to fame last year for criticizing the ruling junta released a new single taking aim at unfair election rules.
The track “250 Bootlickers” (“250 Sor Plor”) was released at 3am on Saturday by Rap Against Dictatorship, who became famous in Thailand and known worldwide for last year’s “My Country’s Got.” The new single and accompanying music video taunts the 250 members of the Senate being appointed by the junta.
Since junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha is expected to get the support of the entire upper house, he will need only 126 elected representatives from the lower house to secure another term as prime minister.
“Rights we deserve are gone because of those bootlickers,” sings youth rapper Liberate P. He’s among five artists seen in the video along with Dif Kids, K. Aglet, G-Bear and Hockhacker.
The music video was shot inside anonymous artistHeadache Stencil’s current exhibition at WTF Cafe and Gallery.
“Licker, licker, Election Commission also licked / Licker, licker, their positions were derived from kissing ass / Licker, licker, votes in parliament from the lickers.”
It continues with the rappers criticizing an increasingly unfair election system that may keep the junta in power.
“What you think is unfair, I just don’t care / You know who I am, quit whining, just another trick of mine unveiled / You only have a plan but no point, so full of ideas but no voice / Power in my hand is overflowing, I want no noise / Get it, you just have to choose me boy … Fifty million people starting to have no choice because their worth is less than those of 250.”
As of Saturday morning the video had been watched more than 86,000 times.
“If we talk about the amount of bootlickers, among them are cult leaders / The rest of the chosen ones from the non-correctness politicians out there / Those chosen ones get to choose among themselves / It all ended with an appointment / Election for representatives, but you control everything.”
Rap Against Dictatorship rose to fame overnight in October after they released a 5-minute music video for “My Country’s Got” (“Prathet Ku Mee”) on YouTube with strong lyrics against the military government and the country’s troubled political past.
7:49pm
Future Forward leaders Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and Piyabutr Saengkanokkul thanked their supporters at the party’s headquarters for their votes. Future Forward is currently running fourth in early returns.
5:34pm
Reporters Chayanit Itthipongmaetee and Asaree Thaitrakulpanich are now at Phalang Pracharath Party headquarters on Ratchadaphisek Road.
