Tight security planned for registration of election candidates in Bangkok
The Election Commission is not concerned about possible disorder during next week’s registration of Bangkok’s MP candidates due to the strict security measures it has put in place, a senior commission official said on Saturday.
At least 170 police officers will be dispatched to the registration venue, a building in the Bangkok Youth Centre, said Samran Tantipanit, director of the commission’s Political and Electoral Development Institute.
Officers from local police stations, the Special Branch, the Patrol and Special Operation Division, and bomb-disposal and crowd-control units will be on hand, Samran said.
People entering the building will be scanned for prohibited objects, he said.
The commission held the final rehearsal for candidate registration at the venue on Saturday. Candidate registration starts on Monday and ends on Friday.
The venue is reserved for the registration of candidates for Bangkok’s 33 constituencies in the May 14 general election.
The commission will hold a rehearsal on Sunday for registration of party-list candidates at Bangkok City Hall 2 in Din Daeng district.
Samran was accompanied by the permanent secretary of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Kachit Chatchawanit, during an inspection of Saturday’s final rehearsal at the Bangkok Youth Centre.
Officials are “100% ready” for next week’s registration, Samran said, explaining that they have rehearsed many times and many of them have done the job before.
He also warned candidates, political parties and their supporters not to violate the electoral law after candidates register.
Supporters accompanying candidates can dance and sing on the way to the registration venue, but they must avoid doing so after their candidate registers because the law prohibits using entertainment to attract votes, Samran explained.
