ID :
319674
Thu, 03/06/2014 - 15:03
Auther :

Applications for Thailand's Senate election go on smoothly

BANGKOK, March 6 (TNA) - Candidates' registrations for Thailand's Senate election, set on March 30, 2014, have been continued smoothly, as 259 contestants have applied nationwide for the forthcoming Upper House poll. Puchong Nutrawong, Secretary-General of the Election Commission of Thailand (EC), confirmed on Thursday that a total of 259 candidates countrywide have applied to contest in the March 30 Senate election since March 3 with no obstruction. By March 5, Puchong reported, applicants in the Chiang Mai Province in the Thai North stood at 11, higher than all other provinces in the country, while there was no candidate applying in Phayao, also in the Thai North, so far. Puchong told reporters it is likely, however, that more than one candidate will contest for the Senate election in each Thai province because senators are responsible for scrutinising government officials and draft laws before they are enforced. After the five-day registrations, set to end on March 7, Puchong said, advance voting for the Thai Senate election will be held on March 23. A total of 77 senators will be elected to sit in the 150-member Thai Upper House, while the remainder comes from appointment. In response to a recent call by the ruling Pheu Thai Party's MPs for the EC to reschedule elections for members of the House of Representatives (MPs) in provinces where the general election could not be held on February 2, 2014, due to anti-government protests, on the same day with the Senate election, Puchong revealed that the EC will also discuss the issue on March 7, noting that the election agency would organise new elections for MPs if there was no blockage by anti-government protesters. Besides, representatives of four major political parties have agreed to attend a meeting in Songkhla Province in the Thai South on March 7 to assess the situation and to see whether it is possible to hold new elections in 28 constituencies in eight southern Thai provinces, where candidates' registrations for the February 2 general election were blocked by local anti-government protesters. (TNA)

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