About 50 million Thais have the right to cast their vote on Sunday in an election to decide the future of the country, and whether it will undergo radical change or maintain the status quo. Another two million voters took part in advance voting previously.
"This election is seen as a national agenda item to express the power of clean elections," said Election Commission (EC) chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong on Saturday. "No vote-buying, no vote-selling."
At the polling station, each eligible voter will be provided with two ballot papers -- a purple ballot for choosing a local member of parliament and a green one to pick their party of choice to run the country, he said.
The EC expects an 85% of voters will turnout in Sunday's election. The choices for Thais are between the continued rule of the elite, whose political and economic decisions have resulted in stark inequality, or the country's dream of having truly democratic government representatives who empower citizens and uplift those living in poverty, observers say.
A total of 70 parties, 1,898 list-MP candidates and 4,781 MP candidates have registered to contest this election, while 63 people have been named as prime ministerial candidates for 43 parties. The selection of a new PM will take place at a later date.
Mr Ittiporn said the EC is ready to organise Sunday's election and ensure it will run smoothly. The EC expects to begin reporting unofficial election results from 6.30pm, he said. Marked ballots from advance voting have already been sent to respective polling stations for counting along with ballots cast on Sunday, Thailand Post said.
Over 147,500 police will be deployed to ensure law and order at the close-to 95,000 polling stations nationwide on Sunday, national police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas said.
These officers will be divided into teams to guard polling stations during voting hours or stand by for rapid deployment to deal with specific incidents, he said.
Ahead of the election, police cracked down on crime from May 4 to Thursday, during which close to 35,900 suspects were detained, he said. Of this number, almost 9,600 were wanted by police over weapons cases, while about 3,300 were arrested over online crime, he said.
A number of other suspects have also been arrested in a total of 184 cases related to the election, he said. Of these, the most common type of crime committed was election poster destruction, he said, adding that a total of 142 such incidents involving 939 damaged posters, most in Bangkok, were reported to the police.
About 40 suspects have been prosecuted while about 50 others have been interrogated by the police, he said. Other election-related criminal cases included attempts to disrupt an election rally, assault, carrying weapons in public without permission and criminal intimidation of election campaigners, he said.
Members of the public who observe or suspect any violations of election law are advised to report it to the authorities at the police's 191 and 1599 hotlines or the Election Commission's hotline, 1444, he said.
Meanwhile, voters in the deep South in particular have been told by the Fourth Army that security measures have been strengthened for Sunday's voting, said Lt Gen Santi Sakultanak, commander of the southern regional army.
He was speaking during an inspection of a security checkpoint in Pattani, where security was being boosted ahead of Sunday's election.
Tripartite security teams, consisting of soldiers, police and defence volunteers, have been deployed in Yala, Patani Narathiwat and some parts of Songkhla provinces to ensure public safety on voting day.
"People can rest assured that they can go out to vote without fear or worry about their safety on Sunday as the authorities are working to maximise security," he said.
Security was stepped up, particularly at polling stations and areas seen as vulnerable, to prevent attacks, he said, noting that during an election in 2021, a vehicle transporting ballot boxes encountered a bomb attack.
Security officials stationed at polling stations are also being told to maintain political neutrality, he said.
EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee said some marked ballots from advance voting accidentally sent to incorrect provinces for vote-counting have been re-routed to the correct provinces.
All marked ballots from advance overseas voting have been delivered to polling stations as well, he said.
For their own convenience, voters are advised to visit the Bureau of Registration Administration website to check where they are supposed to go to cast their vote on Sunday.
