His Majesty the King has quoted from a speech delivered by his father, the late King Bhumibol, to urge voters to elect “good people” to rule the country.

The Royal Household Bureau announced at 8.44pm that His Majesty had instructed the Lord Chamberlain to quote from a royal speech delivered by King Bhumibol at the sixth gathering of National Boy Scouts at the Vajiravudh Boy Scout Camp in Chon Buri province on December 11, 1989, as a reminder to the public.

In his address then, King Bhumibol had said: “Please remember one important thing, that there will be both good and bad people in the country’s administration. No one can make all the people good. To keep the country peaceful and in order, though we cannot make all people good we must support goodness.

We must let good people rule and ensure that bad people have no power to cause trouble and turmoil.”

Thailand’s Election Commission has assured representatives from 11 nations and one international electoral watchdog organisation of a clean and fair election tomorrow.

The EC briefed representatives of election commissions from Australia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea, East Timor, and Vietnam at the Rama Gardens Hotel at 9.45am this morning.

Representatives of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance also attended the session.

Eight Burmese migrants drowned along with two others that are missing, presumed dead, after a van they were travelling in was hit by a 10 wheel truck and both vehicles plunged into a canal in Kanchanaburi’s Tha Muang district in western Thailand today.

Police say the accident happened at 12.10pm at the Sa Setthi Intersection in Tambon Ban Mai.

About 100 rescuers rushed to the scene to try to save the passengers who were trapped inside the van.