Thai polling stations might close if violence mars polls

Reuters, Bangkok :Thai authorities might close polling booths if violence erupts during Sunday’s disputed election, which would further undermine the credibility of a vote that is deemed incapable of restoring stability in the polarized country.The government has vowed to push ahead with the general election despite threats by anti-government protesters, camped out at major intersections in Bangkok, that they will disrupt the polls in an attempt to stop Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s Puea Thai Party from returning to power.The anti-government protesters took to the streets in November in the latest round of an eight-year conflict that pits Bangkok’s middle class, southern Thais and the royalist establishment against the mostly poor, rural supporters of Yingluck and her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in 2006.The main opposition Democrat party, which backs the anti-government protests, is boycotting the election, which Yingluck’s party is bound to win but without enough members to achieve a quorum in parliament.The prospect of polling stations having to close early because of trouble on the streets will only add to doubts about the vote’s legitimacy.Puchong Nutrawong, secretary-general of the Election Commission, said it was concentrating on security in Bangkok and the south, where the opposition is strong.The protesters, members of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee, forced polling stations in 49 of 50 districts in Bangkok to shut last weekend and voting could only go ahead in three of 15 southern provinces.”We’re focusing our security efforts in Bangkok and in the south. I’ve asked commission officials to call polling venues in southern Thailand today to ensure we are as prepared as we can be,” Puchong told Reuters. “If any polling station faces a security threat it can shut down.”Protesters have threatened to obstruct access to polling stations again on Sunday, although protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, in an apparent contradiction, said his supporters would not stop people voting.The government has imposed a state of emergency to help control the protest movement but troops have barely been seen on the streets and the police have kept a low profile. More than 93,000 polling stations will be set up around the country on Sunday. The commission, which wanted to postpone the vote because of the volatility, said it had authority to order troops and police to help ensure the election takes place.”Soldiers are ready to help with the elections,” army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters. “The Election Commission is working out which are the potential flashpoints. Troops are ready to support but won’t go near polling stations. Election venue security is the responsibility of the police.”Suthep wants to rid the country of the Shinawatra family’s political influence and accuses Yingluck, who swept to power in the last election in 2011, of being Thaksin’s puppet.