Thai protesters block voting in chaotic election

Thai Prime Minister and Pheu Thai party leader Yingluck Shinawatra, right, poses before casting her ballot for the general election at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014. Opposition protesters prevented voting at thousands of polling stations in Thailand on Sunday, triggering angry scenes in the capital over an election that plunged the strife-racked kingdom into political limbo. AP PHOTO/WALLY SANTANA

BANGKOK—Opposition protesters prevented voting at thousands of polling stations in Thailand on Sunday, triggering angry scenes in the capital over an election that plunged the strife-racked kingdom into political limbo.

Despite weeks of mass street demonstrations aimed at forcing her from office, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was widely expected to extend her billionaire family’s decade-long winning streak at the ballot box.

But the disruption to voting means that the results are not expected for weeks at least, and there will not be enough MPs to convene parliament and appoint a government until new elections are held in the problem areas.

The main opposition Democrat Party, which boycotted the vote, said it was gathering evidence to seek an annulment of the election on legal technicalities.

An angry crowd gathered outside one voting center in the Bangkok district of Din Daeng, holding their ID cards in the air and chanting “Vote! Vote!” before storming inside.

“I came to vote, but they have denied my rights,” said Praneet Tabtimtong, 57, clutching a large wooden club. “I am begging them to let me vote.”

Disruption by protesters to ballot paper deliveries was a major cause of the problems.

Few believe the polls will end the political turmoil that has plagued the kingdom since Yingluck’s elder brother Thaksin was ousted as premier in a military coup in 2006.

The premier’s opponents say she is a mere puppet for the ousted leader, a hugely controversial figure who lives in Dubai to avoid prison for a corruption conviction.

Experts say a protracted period of political uncertainty and possible street violence could set the scene for a military or judicial coup. The army chief has repeatedly refused to rule out seizing power, while Yingluck is under investigation by an anti-corruption panel.

‘Democrats to prevail’

“The most likely scenario is that somehow the Democrats will prevail in getting the election annulled for some reason,” said Thailand-based author and scholar David Streckfuss.

About 10,000 out of nearly 94,000 polling stations were unable to open, according to the Election Commission, affecting millions of people, although it was unclear how many had planned to vote.

Even if Yingluck wins she will remain in a caretaker role with limited power over government policy until elections are held in enough constituencies to have a quorum in parliament.

“Normally even if one polling station is blocked we cannot announce the result,” said Election Commission member Somchai Srisutthiyakorn.

“As long as there are protests and no negotiation, then parliament cannot open.”

Tensions were running high after a dramatic gun battle between rival protesters on the streets of the capital on the eve of the election that left at least seven people wounded. But there were no reports of serious violence on election day by the time polls closed.

At least 10 people have been killed and hundreds injured in clashes, grenade attacks and drive-by shootings since the opposition rallies began, with victims on both sides.

‘Thuggery and intimidation’

The demonstrators want Yingluck to step down and make way for an unelected “people’s council” to oversee reforms to tackle corruption and alleged vote-buying.

Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher with New York-based Human Rights Watch, accused the protesters of “thuggery and intimidation.”

But in the government’s heartland in north and northeast Thailand, as well as some areas of the capital, voting went ahead without major disruption in a boost to Yingluck’s hopes of re-election.

“I did my duty today as I came to vote—it’s my right,” said Pui, 43, who cast his ballot at a polling station in Bangkok’s historic district where a handful of police watched over voters.

Authorities said roughly 130,000 police were deployed around the country for the vote, but with tens of thousands of polling stations, many had only a light security presence.

The recent violence is the worst political bloodshed in the kingdom since 2010 when protests by pro-Thaksin “Red Shirts” left more than 90 dead and nearly 1,900 injured in clashes and a military crackdown.

The elite-backed opposition Democrat Party—which has not won an elected majority in around two decades—refused to take part in the vote, throwing its support behind the anti-government protests.

The party said Sunday that it was preparing to mount a legal challenge to the vote.

“We are compiling evidence and information to ask the court to nullify this election,” said deputy leader Ongart Klampaiboon.

The protesters have vowed to keep up their fight to topple Yingluck, whatever the outcome of the polls.

“The winners will not represent the Thai people,” rally leader Suthep Thaugsuban, an opposition heavyweight, told supporters Sunday. “The winners must be Thaksin slaves.”—Apilaporn Vechakij