Phuket candidates register for election

PHUKET: Crowds of supporters turned out in droves at the Phuket Auditorium, located at the Phuket Provincial Administration Centerin Phuket Town, yesterday (Apr 3) as candidates registered to contest seats as Members of Parliament representing Phuket in the upcoming election to be held on May 14.

Yesterday marked the first day for candidates to register for the election. Nationwide, candidates have until 4:30pm Friday (Apr 7) to register.

In line with national policy and registration centres set up elsewhere throughout the country, the Phuket office of the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT Phuket) started receiving registrations at the provincial government centre, on Tha Kraeng Rd, Phuket Town, at 8:30am.

In Phuket, a total of 28 candidates representing 13 political parties registered. Only five parties ‒ Kao Klai, Bhumjaithai, Palang Pracharat, Pheu Thai and Seri Ruam Thai ‒ fielded candidates to contest all three MP seats available.

The May 14 election will be the first that three MP seats for Phuket will be up for grabs. Previously Phuket had been allocated only two.

SILENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

ECT Phuket has been required twice to seek public feedback on which of three maps will be used to define the three constituencies in Phuket.

However, so far ECT Phuket has yet to announce through a public announcement exactly which map will be used in the May 14 election.

After calls by The Phuket News to the main ECT Phuket office yesterday went unanswered, The Phuket News was finally able to speak to an ECT Phuket officer today, who said that ‘Map 2” had been selected.

The officer repeatedly said that ECT Phuket had announced which map was to be used on its website ‒ but was unable to explain where. The Phuket News has been unable to locate the public announcement. At the time of this story being posted online today (Apr 4), the public announcement still had yet to be posted on ECT Phuket’s official Facebook page.

The Phuket office of the Public Relations Department and its affiliate Phuket branch of Radio Thailand Phuket both also still had yet to announce to Phuket people through their official Facebook pages that ‘Map 2’ has been chosen.

FULL STEAM AHEAD

The lack of public knowledge of which map was to be used, hence which areas each MP seat will cover, did not stop candidates from turning out in force yesterday to register to enter the election. Apparently the prospective candidates had already been told.

As such, as posted on the public boards at the registration centre were the full list of candidates, and their numbers on the ballot, as follows:

Candidates for Area 1