Bangkok voting area with large army presence sees crowding and long qeues

Army members flocked to vote at Bangkok‘s Dusit district polling station, while the public complained about long queues and inadequate facilities for over 6,500 people.

The atmosphere at the voting site Health Service Centre 38 was bustling and hectic since the polls opened today at 8am. This location, with eight polling stations, has a total of 6,506 eligible voters, with more than 80% being army members and their families from various military units, including M.Pan.4, P.L.1, Ro., M.1Pan.3, Army Support Command, and the Communications Battalion – Ordnance Department. Meanwhile, 20% of voters are the general public.

The eight polling stations at this location are composed of:

• Polling station no. 33 in Nakhon Chai Si subdistrict, Dusit district, Bangkok, with 771 voters.
• Polling station no. 34 in Nakhon Chai Si subdistrict, Dusit district, Bangkok, with 814 voters.
• Polling station no. 35 in Nakhon Chai Si subdistrict, Dusit district, Bangkok, with 879 voters.
• Polling station no. 36 in Nakhon Chai Si subdistrict, Dusit district, Bangkok, with 872 voters.
• Polling station no. 37 in Nakhon Chai Si subdistrict, Dusit district, Bangkok, with 799 voters.
• Polling station no. 38 in Nakhon Chai Si subdistrict, Dusit district, Bangkok, with 771 voters.
• Polling station no. 39 in Nakhon Chai Si subdistrict, Dusit district, Bangkok, with 782 voters.
• Polling station no. 40 in Nakhon Chai Si subdistrict, Dusit district, Bangkok, with 818 voters.

Due to a large number of people using their voting rights at this location, there was a lot of congestion and crowded conditions, Sanook reported. Additionally, the polling station committees were inexperienced, and the allocated tent spaces were not sufficient for the number of attendees, the majority of whom were army members, while the local public was in the minority.

Yesterday, it was reported that Thailand‘s Election Commission (EC) predicts an 85% voter turnout for the General Elections. The EC reportedly maintains confidence in its ability to conduct the elections efficiently despite a few issues encountered during advance voting last week.