Less than half of eligible voters managed to cast their ballots in Sunday’s snap election, with the highest turnout in Nong Bualamphu and the lowest in Samut Sakhon, according to initial reports from the Election Commission (EC).
In Nong Bualamphu 72.5 per cent of a total 382,095 eligible voters went to the polls. Bung Kan, which was established in 2011 and is the newest province in Thailand, followed with the next highest turnout at 70 per cent.
The lowest turnouts in Sunday's election were recorded in Samut Sakhon, where only 20 per cent of the electorate voted and in Rayong, where 25.84 per cent cast their ballots.
The Northeast region recorded the biggest overall turnout with 56.14 per cent, followed by the North with 54.03 per cent, the South with 44.88 per cent and Central region with 42.38 per cent.
Only 20 million people or 45% of total eligible voters participated in Sunday’s election as protests by the anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) disrupted polling in 18 provinces.
The July 3, 2011 election saw 46,939,549 eligible voters cast their ballots, equating to a 75.03 per cent turnout. In that election, spoiled ballots accounted for 4.9 per cent of the total, while 'no votes' made up 2.72 per cent.
In 2011, the North recorded the biggest voter turnout with 77.16 per cent, followed by the South with 76.76 per cent, the Central region with 75.73 per cent and the Northeast with 72.48 per cent.