The provincial-level Senate election will take place nationwide on Sunday, with the Election Commission (EC) having asked candidates to show up at polling stations on time, and without having introduced themselves during the vote.
EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee led a team of election officials to inspect the Vayupak Convention Centre at the Centara Life Government Complex Hotel on Chaeng Watthana Road in Lak Si district, which serves as a polling station for the district-level Bangkok vote.
Mr Sawaeng said the number of successful candidates has been narrowed down as the process moves from district to provincial level, so the vote should go smoothly.
A total of 23,645 candidates have been shortlisted for the provincial-level election, and Mr Sawaeng stressed that they must show up for registration at provincial polling stations from 8-9am on Sunday. Those who are late will lose their right to run.
"Just one second late is not allowed. Every candidate must manage their travel time to avoid traffic jams,'' he said.
He said the candidates are also prohibited from introducing themselves to other candidates at polling stations.
Wantanee Watana, deputy City Clerk at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), said reporters and the public will be allowed to observe the election process via CCTV, but interviews are not allowed.
She also said provincial election offices must provide facilities to accommodate disabled or elderly candidates who are running in the Senate election, such as wheelchair ramps, rails and vehicle lifts to allow them easy access to the buildlngs.
The polling stations for these groups of candidates should be located on the ground floor of a building, Dr Wantanee said.
According to the 2017 constitution, the new Senate to succeed the junta-appointed chamber will comprise 200 members selected from 20 professional groups, with 10 seats available for each group. They will not be directly elected by the public.
The election, organised by the Election Commission (EC), is a three-phase process in which candidates choose among themselves both from their own group and other professional groups at the district, provincial and national levels.
At the district level, there was an intra-group election in which five candidates with the highest number of votes in each group proceeded to an inter-group election.
In the inter-group poll, the three candidates with the highest number of votes were shortlisted per group, or 60 across 20 groups.
The shortlisted candidates now repeat a similar process at the provincial-level, but this time during the inter-group poll, only the two candidates with the most votes in each group progress to the final, national stage in which the top 10 from each of the 20 groups are selected as senators.