Bars on Walking Street went quiet with most
observing the law banning alcohol sales on election night.
Jetsada Homklin
Surasit Nithiwuthworarak, who petitioned the Supreme Court to
restore his candidacy before early voting began March 23, beat out five
other candidates to claim the top spot in the March 30 final ballot.
The former Chart Thai Party MP bested medical graduate Somchai Pattanaanek
92,058 votes to 42,623. Former police Maj. Col. Banthit Khunajak, 63,
garnered 26,942 votes for third place. Saengsorn Sunthornsilpachai, 62, a
public administration graduate; Kampol Tangekachai, 43, a Ph.D. in business
administration; and Vichai Jullawanitpong, 52, a Mahidol University medical
graduate, attracted less than 13,000 votes each.
Turnout in Chonburi was the lowest of any province in Thailand, with just
24.99 percent of 1.03 million eligible voters turning up. Many polling
places were as quiet as Walking Street and Soi Buakaow, where bars were
closed up tight due to legal prohibitions against selling alcohol during
elections.
Turnout for senatorial elections typically trails lower-house contests -
only 55 percent of Thais voted in the last senate poll in 2008 - but
Thailand’s ongoing political struggles were blamed for bringing down
interest even farther.
The anti-politician sentiment was evident as 18.7 percent of voters simply
voted “no” to all the candidates and another 5.2 percent of ballot were
spoiled.
