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Thailand Holds Second Round National Elections
Thailand held the second round national elections Monday, January 29, in 62 constituencies in 29 provinces across the kingdom.
Voters came to hundreds of polling stations nationwide around 800 A.M. (100 GMT) to decide last 62 winners of the national elections, which selects the next 500-member House of the Representatives, the lower chamber.
Last Tuesday the Election Commission (EC) endorsed 438 of the winning candidates of the January 6 national election while announcing the by-elections would be held Monday.
Results of the by-elections are due to be publicized by February 1 to leave enough time for making arrangements for the opening of the House, which is expected to happen on February 5, according to EC sources.
Election Commissioner Sawsdi Chotipanich reiterated on local TV channel Monday that although Monday's by-elections would be the final round before the opening of the House, disqualification of candidates and winners would continue if sufficient evidence is provided.
Reports said there still remain about 600 cases of alleged election frauds waiting to be finalized.
In a related report, the EC has trimmed the budget for the by- elections to 308 million baht (US$7.1m), from the previous sum of 600 million baht (US$14m).
The expenditure includes spending by the EC and other units helping in the by-elections, including the Local Administration Department and the Royal Thai Police.
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