Nearly 100,000 Police Needed to Man Polling Stations

About half of the 210,000 strong police force shall be the duty to ensure peaceful voting on July 3 elections, national police chief General Potephosree Wicha said yesterday.

Nearly 100 thousand police would be needed to man some 90,200 polling stations across the country, “he said.

Wicha said police were investigating 10 incidents of violence related to the campaign, four of which took place in Bangkok. The other incidents include attempted murder Pheu Thai candidate in Samut Prakan Pracha Prasobdee and weapon attacks in Angthong, Chiang Rai and Lampang.

Police have received reports of 1,057 campaign signs being vandalized. rival candidates have launched more than 20 complaints against the police alleged smear campaigns. About 40 groups in 24 provinces are under police watch list due to fierce competition.

A total of 256 electoral candidates have applied for and received police protection. About 540 policemen have been assigned security tasks.

As a precautionary measure to prevent violations, the police have been monitoring the social networks through some 200 websites devoted to spreading messages of the campaign.

The public is encouraged to report any suspected crimes or vote buying campaign through the police hot-line to line 1599 and 1171 the Electoral Commission.

Under electoral laws, voters will receive immunity if they report illegal payments for votes within seven days.

Press Release-Chiangrai Times