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FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019
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GOING TO THE POLLS
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NEWS
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VOTER TURNOUT EXPECTED TO BE HIGH FOR THE NATIONAL ELECTION
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A man casts his vote at the advance voting held in Phuket last Sunday (Mar 17). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot
Waranya Prompinpiras & Tanyaluk Sakoot reporter1@classactmedia.co.th
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early 300,000 people will be on the move in Phuket this Sunday (Mar 24) as they head to polling stations set up across the island to cast their votes in the national election. A total of 366 polling stations will be set up throughout the province to make voting more convenient, and likely reduce traffic congestion in key voting areas, explained Nutthawat Wongitsaraphap, Director of the Phuket office of the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT).
Of the 294,296 eligible voters in Phuket, 144,721 are registered to vote for any of the 28 candidates contesting Phuket Constituency 1, which comprises Mueang District, including Rassada, but excluding Koh Kaew and Rawai. The remaining 149,575 are registered to cast their votes at any of 192 polling stations for any of the 31 candidates contesting Phuket Constituency 2, which comprises the remaining areas of Thalang and Kathu Districts, but also includes Koh Kaew, Rawai and Karon. “We will have 174 polling stations set up in Phuket Constituency 1 and 192 stations set up in Phuket
Constituency 2,” Mr Nutthawat explained. “This should be enough. We have set the polling stations out to accommodate about 1,000 voters at each one,” he said. Despite voter turnout at the advance voting held nationwide last Sunday (Mar 17) averaging 86.98%, even reaching 90% in some places, voter turnout this Sunday is expected to be about only 80%, Mr Nutthawat said. “This is the general estimate for the whole country as given by the Office of the Election Commission of Thailand in Bangkok,” he explained. Mr Nutthawat declined to give
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his own estimate of what the voter turnout in Phuket is likely to be. Of note, although voting is compulsory by law in Thailand, voter turnout in national elections over the past two decades had grown to reach over the 80% mark. Turnout this weekend is expected to be high. The advance voting last weekend saw Phuket have the highest number of people registering to cast their votes early among all 14 provinces in Southern Thailand. A total of 49,017 people living and working on the island registered to cast their votes for candidates in their home provinces elsewhere, with 40,855 actually turning out to cast...
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