Over 800,000 Bangkok residents register for early voting in May 14 General Election

Some 800,000 citizens in Bangkok have registered to cast their ballots ahead of the May 14 General Election, as they intend to engage in early voting on May 7. Among the 2.35 million voters nationwide who have registered for advance voting, numerous are located in Thailand’s capital city, with 74 polling stations available.

The largest number of early voters registered at Ramkhamhaeng University, with around 52,000 individuals registered, followed by Royal Paragon Hall with 40,000 registrations and Huai Kwang district office, which saw 28,000 registrations. Other polling stations with a high turnout of registrations include the 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 2 shopping mall (23,000), the car park at Wat That Thong (22,800), and Chandra Rajabhat University (22,200).

From March 25 to April 9, 2,350,969 people across the nation registered for early voting. In advance of the General Election on May 14, advance voting is scheduled for May 7.

Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, the chairman of Seri Ruam Thai’s policy steering committee and a former election commissioner, has urged the Election Commission (EC) to improve transparency by providing more information about the voting rights of individuals living abroad. Somchai expressed these concerns via his Facebook account yesterday.

Among the issues raised by Somchai were the numerous peculiarities in the handling of overseas voting, including the elimination of postal voting, which he argued was the most convenient method for voters. Additionally, there were reported delays in sending out ballot papers and discrepancies in the photos of candidates from two separate parties not matching their assigned ballot numbers in Bangkok’s constituency 11.

Furthermore, confusion arose regarding the distribution of voting documents. For example, some citizens eligible to vote in Amnat Charoen’s Constituency 2 were also given documents allowing them to vote in Nonthaburi’s Constituency 4.

The Seri Ruam Thai Party has urged that voting abroad be carried out with complete transparency. To achieve this, the party has requested the EC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide a detailed account of the number of registered voters living outside the nation.