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.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
RSS