Representatives of political parties draw candidate numbers amid turbulence

BANGKOK, December 26 (TNA) - The Election Commission of Thailand (EC) organized the draws of candidate numbers of political parties participating in the new general election on Thursday morning, amid teargas fired by security officers at anti-government demonstrators who tried to obstruct the process. The EC told representatives of the 34 political parties to draw their numbers at the Gymnasium 2 building in the compound of the Thai-Japanese Stadium in Bangkok's Din Daeng area, as riot police and soldiers guarded the place to block the demonstrators from reaching the building. The number draws could eventually happen, with the ruling Pheu Thai drawing No. 15, the coalition Chartthaipattana Party, the Chart Pattana Party and the Bhumjaithai Party drawing No. 14, No. 1 and No. 6 respectively. After the draws, representatives of the political parties paid fees to the EC, which then officially acknowledged their list-MP candidacy registrations. The assigned numbers will be used in the registrations of constituency candidates, set from December 28, 2013 to January 1, 2014. The EC staffs then boarded police helicopters from the venue to their office at the Government Complex on Chaeng Watthana Road in the capital. The session, however, took place amid disturbances, as the demonstrators of the Network of Students and People for Reform of Thailand (NSPRT), aligned with the main anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), tried every means to reach the venue, while police issued warnings in vain and then fired teargas and rubber bullets at the demonstrators. The Bangkok Emergency Medical Service Center reported that four injured people were then sent to nearby hospitals, while others were treated at the protest site. Dr. Udom Chaowarin, Deputy Director of Ratchawithi Hospital, told reporters that, as of Thursday afternoon, 33 people were injured during the clash between the anti-government demonstrators and police officers, two of them remained at Ratchawithi Hospital, one is a Japanese journalist who suffered from a head injury and the other was undergoing surgery after being shot at the head. According to the doctor, the rest of the injured, who had already been discharged from Ratchawithi Hospital, were wounded from the firing of tear gas. Meanwhile, the Center for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO) insisted that the government's measures to deal with the protesters obstructing the draws of election candidate numbers at the Thai-Japanese Stadium comply with Thai laws and international standards. Regarding to the use of teargas and rubber bullets to control protesters at the venue, Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, who supervises the CAPO, said in his address broadcast live that police had to protect election officials, candidates and government property, as the demonstrators used trucks to hit the gates of the stadium and tried to seize the venue. According to the caretaker deputy prime minister, police tried gentle means and internationally recognized measures, as well as exercised patience to handle the protesters, but three police officers were injured in the clash and one of them later died from a gun shot at his chest. The caretaker deputy premier stressed that the incident proved that ongoing anti-government protests were not peaceful, as Suthep Thaugsuban, secretary-general of the PDRC had claimed, vowing that legal action would be taken against the PDRC core leader, who is a former deputy prime minister of Thailand's Democrat Party, along with other offenders. (TNA)