Opposition protesters yesterday blocked voting at thousands of polling stations in Thailand, triggering angry scenes in the capital over an election that plunged the strife-racked kingdom into political limbo.
Despite weeks of mass street demonstrations aimed at forcing her from office, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was widely expected to extend her billionaire family’s decade-long winning streak at the ballot box.
However, widespread disruption to voting meant that the results are not expected for weeks at least.
Moreover, few believe the polls will end the political turmoil that has plagued the kingdom since her elder brother, former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted in a military coup in 2006.
Yingluck’s opponents say she is a mere puppet for the ousted leader, a hugely controversial figure who lives in Dubai to avoid prison for a corruption conviction.
The main opposition Democrat Party, which boycotted the vote, said it was gathering legal evidence to seek an annulment of the election.
About 10,000 out of nearly 94,000 polling stations were unable to open, according to the Election Commission, affecting millions of people, although it was unclear how many had planned to vote.
An angry crowd gathered outside one voting center in the Bangkok district of Din Daeng, holding their ID cards in the air and chanting “Vote! Vote!” before storming inside.
They later filed complaints with police about the blockade.
“I came to vote, but they have denied my rights,” said Praneet Tabtimtong, 57, clutching a large wooden club. “I am begging them to let me vote.”
The disruption means that even if Yingluck wins, she will remain in a caretaker role with limited power over government policy until elections are held in the troubled areas, because there will not be enough lawmakers to convene parliament.
“Normally even if one polling station is blocked we cannot announce the result,” Election Commission member Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said. “As long as there are protests and no negotiation, then parliament cannot open.”
Experts say a protracted period of political uncertainty and possible street violence could set the scene for a military or judicial coup. The army chief has repeatedly refused to rule out seizing power, while Yingluck is under investigation by an anti-corruption panel.
At least 10 people have been killed and hundreds injured in clashes, grenade attacks and drive-by shootings since the opposition rallies began, with victims on both sides.
Tensions were running high after a dramatic gun battle between rival protesters on the streets of the capital on the eve of the election that left at least seven people wounded, but there were no reports of serious violence on election day by the time polls closed.
The demonstrators want Yingluck to step down and make way for an unelected “people’s council” to oversee reforms to tackle corruption and alleged vote-buying.
In many parts of the south, a stronghold of the anti-government movement, protesters stopped post offices from distributing ballot sheets and boxes.
Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher with New York-based Human Rights Watch, accused the demonstrators of “thuggery and intimidation.”
However, in the government’s heartland in north and northeast Thailand, as well as some areas of the capital, voting went ahead without major disruption in a boost to Yingluck’s hopes of re-election.
“I did my duty today as I came to vote — it’s my right,” said Pui, 43, who cast his ballot at a polling station in Bangkok’s historic district where a handful of police watched over voters.
Authorities said about 130,000 police were deployed around the country for the vote, but with tens of thousands of polling stations, many had only a light security presence.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
NEW LOW: The council in 2024 based predictions on a pessimistic estimate for the nation’s total fertility rate of 0.84, but last year that rate was 0.69, 17 percent lower An expected National Development Council (NDC) report expects the nation’s population to drop below 12 million by 2065, with the old-age dependency ratio to top 100 percent sooner than 2070, sources said yesterday. The council is slated to release its latest population projections in August, using an ultra-low fertility model, the sources said. The previous report projected that Taiwan’s population would fall to 14.37 million by 2070, but based on a new estimate of the total fertility rate (TFR) — the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime — the population is expected to reach 12 million by
COUNTERING HOSTILITY: The draft bill would require the US to increase diplomatic pressure on China and would impose sanctions on those who sabotage undersea cable networks US lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bipartisan bill to bolster the resilience of Taiwan’s submarine cables to counter China’s hostile activities. The proposal, titled the critical undersea infrastructure resilience initiative act, was cosponsored by Republican representatives Mike Lawler and Greg Stanton, and Democratic Representative Dave Min. US Senators John Curtis and Jacky Rosen also introduced a companion bill in the US Senate, which has passed markup at the chamber’s Committee on Foreign Relations. The House’s version of the bill would prioritize the deployment of sensors to detect disruptions or potential sabotage in real-time and enhance early warning capabilities through global intelligence sharing frameworks,
RSS