The Election Commission (EC) expects a 65% turnout in the Feb 1 nationwide elections for members and the chairs of provincial administration organisations (PAO), up slightly from when the local polls were held in 2020.
The average turnout that year was a fairly consistent 62.86%, EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong said yesterday at the launch of a campaign encouraging people to exercise their voting rights.
Provinces that recorded a high turnout in 2020 included Phatthalung (78%), Satun (77%) and Chiang Mai (72%), while Nonthaburi and Buri Ram logged an equally low turnout of about 50%, he said. "This time the EC is urging more voters to go to the polls to help raise the average turnout,'' he said.
Campaigning materials, including Moo Deng the famous baby pygmy hippo, which is the new election mascot, are being rolled out to raise public awareness.
In the meantime, the EC continues probing an audio clip containing conversations about 20 million baht in cash being distributed to Prachin Buri in preparation for what was suspected to be a vote-buying plot, he said.
Other than this case, there have been few complaints about suspected poll fraud since candidacy registration ended on Dec 27 and the names of eligible candidates were announced on Jan 3, he said.
Of all the 7,007 people applying to contest these PAO elections, 192 signed up for candidacy in the PAO chairs election and the rest in the election of PAO members, he said. A total of 92 such candidates were disqualified as they were found to have not voted in the previous election, which cost them a two-year ban.
EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee said the EC is duty-bound to ensure the elections are free and fair. All candidates will be treated equally and all the processes related to the elections must be accountable. The only concern now is that the lower the number of voters, the less credible the results may be, he said, urging people to vote on Feb 1.