Published on January 31, 2005

More than 700,000 voters took part in advance balloting over the weekend, the Election Commission said yesterday.

Over the past two days, 528,518 people exercised their right to vote in their constituencies, while another 172,503 cast absentee ballots outside their constituencies, said EC secretary-general Ekkachai Waroonprapha.

He said the high voter turnout – more than 330,000 – on the first day of the advance voting prompted the EC to order more officials to stand by to assist voters who wanted to cast advance votes.

Those who wanted to vote outside their constituencies had to register in advance while those who wanted to vote in their constituency were allowed to inform election officials at the polling stations, he said.

Ekkachai said most of the advanced voters had told officials they would be called away by duty on election day.

He added there was a problem in Maha Sarakham when a group of voters were seen being transported en mass to a polling station. Officials manning the station refused to allow the group to vote because of suspicions of election irregularities.

Ekkachai said the EC would investigate whether the person who drove the voters to the station was involved with any candidate or party, and if necessary take legal action against both the person and the candidate involved.

In Chiang Mai, Supha Withi, a resident of Sansai district, was turned away after officials told her that she had registered to vote in Bangkok four years ago and so would now have to vote in the capital.

Yet Chiang Mai EC director Theerawat Sinthabol said those who had registered outside their constituency could vote in their local district come election day if they proved their residency by showing their house registration papers and their identification card to election officials.

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