Nearly 3,000 candidates conduct final round of voting to elect new Senate

On the morning of June 26, nearly 3,000 senatorial candidates from 20 professional groups who passed the provincial selection process voted to elect 200 members of the Senate for the 2024-2029 term.

On the morning of June 26, senatorial candidates gathered to prepare for the final round of voting for the new Thai Senate at the Impact National Convention Center in Nonthaburi province. (Source: Bangkok Post)

The vote took place at the Impact National Convention Center, Nonthaburi province, Thailand.

As scheduled, candidates must be present at their group's polling station between 8am and 9am to present themselves to the Election Commission (EC) by providing their citizen identification cards or other valid documents issued by state agencies.

Candidates will also have to surrender their mobile phones and other communication devices.

Of the 20 industry groups, only 5 had enough candidates to make it to the final round, while the remaining 15 groups did not have the required number of 154 candidates. Of which, the industrial enterprise group had the fewest number of candidates, 129.

Before the voting, EC Secretary General Sawaeng Boonmee held a meeting with the candidates to re-inform them of the election rules and procedures, emphasizing that candidates were not allowed to introduce themselves to get votes.

The EC is closely monitoring the actions of candidates, Mr Boonmee also noted that vote-swapping in the Senate election is no longer considered a violation of the regulations. He stressed that candidates can use their votes in any way they want - except for vote-buying.

The voting will be held in two rounds. In the first round, candidates in each group will vote for each other to select the top 40 candidates in each group to advance to the next round. The vote counting will be conducted in the morning and the results will be announced at noon on June 26.

The next round of voting begins at 2:30 p.m. the same day, with the 800 Senate candidates leading 20 professional groups who passed the first round of voting voting against each other. Accordingly, each candidate will receive 4 votes, each vote can vote for up to 5 candidates from other groups.

EC President Itthiporn Boonprakong said the selection process is expected to be completed by 6 p.m. the same day.

The election results will be announced on July 2, with the confirmation of the list of 200 elected senators and 100 reserve candidates (5 people for each professional group).

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thai-lan-gan-3000-ung-cu-vien-tien-hanh-vong-bo-phieu-cuoi-cung-bau-thuong-vien-khoa-moi-276411.html