泰國大選提前投票受阻 當局尋求收復被佔領區域大綱
Large numbers of anti-government protesters began to surround polling stations in some districts of Bangkok and southern provinces early Sunday, in an attempt to oppose the scheduled advance voting for the Feb 2 national election.
EC secretary-general Puchong Nutrawong said Sunday morning that the advance voting in the North and the Northeast, except Surin, had been carried out.
In the South, the advance polling could be held in some provinces including Songkhla, Pangnga and some stations in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
He said the advance election could also been carried out in most of provinces in the Central region and in the East, except in Samut Songkram and Bangkok where the EC received reports that 18 districts out of 50, had called off the advance election.
Suthep Thaugsuban, secretary-general of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), called Saturday night for supporters to gather at 5am to prepare to move to close election stations in Bangkok’s districts.
As of 8am, election officials in several districts of Bangkok were unable to enter the polling stations, which were set up at locations such as schools, department stores and district offices.
Protesters used chain to lock the entrances of some polling stations, such as Ban Bang Kapi School which is used as a polling unit for some 80,000 people who had registered for advance voting.
PDRC protesters moved quickly from one polling station to another on learning that polling units in other districts were still open.
Most core protesters who lead the protests at each polling station have tried to say that the protesters do not oppose the election but only put “pressure” on election officials not to carry on the advance voting.
While the protesters have been successful in closing the polling stations in many areas, people shown up to cast their votes have complaints about the situation.
In the South, PDRC protesters were successful to close five polling stations in Trang since Saturday night so the advance polling there was also called off but protesters say they would continue to stay at polling stations until 3pm. There are a total of 2,028 people registered for advance voting in Trang but none of them had shown up as the PDRC protesters had announced earlier that they would close the polling stations.綜合外國媒體報道，當地時間1月26日，泰國大選提前投票正式開始，然而由於反政府示威者的阻撓，首都曼谷和南部多地的投票被迫取消。另外，泰國選舉委員會與看守政府定於28日開會商談是否推遲大選，而泰國當局正在嘗試收復曼谷被佔領區域。
***提前選舉受阻
25日晚，泰國反政府集會領導人、“人民民主改革委員會”祕書長素帖呼籲其支持者於次日凌晨5時集合，然後前往曼谷各區投票站，阻止當天開始的大選提前投票。
素帖的呼聲得到廣大示威者響應。26日一早，示威者用鏈條封鎖了通往多個投票站的道路或者直接將投票站團團圍住。受此影響，許多選舉官員上午8時過後仍然未能進入投票站工作。
曼谷市政府公佈的數據顯示，截至26日中午12時，在全市50個選區中，已有39個選區的提前投票工作被迫取消。
而在泰國全境，北部、東部、中部和東北部大部分地區的提前投票進行得非常順暢，但南部幾個省份的提前投票被取消。由於無法進入投票站，一些選民前往附近警局尋求幫助。
泰國選舉委員會祕書長布宗26日上午稱，包括宋卡府在內，該國南部僅有少數幾個省份的提前投票得以進行。在董里府，當地的5個投票站早在25日晚就被反政府示威者佔領，他們打算一直待到26日下午3時纔會離開。由此，儘管董里府共有2028名選民進行了提前投票登記，但26日無人出現在投票站。
***商談推遲大選
泰國憲法法院上週五裁定，原定於2月2日舉行的大選可以推遲，但必須由選舉委員會和看守政府共同確定大選日期，並提請國王發佈相關諭令。
《曼谷郵報》26日報道稱，選舉委員會和看守政府初步同意28日就是否推遲大選一事展開協商。據悉，看守政府方面已委派副總理蓬貼出面協調和安排總理英拉與選委會商談事宜。而選舉委員會也在25日向英拉發出了正式邀請。
選舉委員會祕書長布宗表示，此次會談定於28日下午2時舉行，至於具體的會議地點，則由英拉決定。29日，選委會還將邀請有關政黨開會，屆時將可知曉大選是否推遲以及被延後至何時。
***尋求收復失地
爲恢復政府機構的正常運作，泰國和平及秩序管理中心（CMPO）成立了一個談判小組，期望說服反政府示威者將其在曼谷佔領的集會地點交還給國家。
泰國特別調查廳負責人塔利表示，這個談判小組由來自警方、軍方和相關政府機構的代表組成，他們將與發起反政府示威活動的“人民民主改革委員會”展開談判，尋求其放棄佔領區域。
自本月13日“封鎖曼谷”行動開啓以來，曼谷市內7大繁華街區被示威者佔領，位於被佔領區域內的政府機構幾乎無法正常運作。“談判不會祕密進行，我們也不會使用武力驅散示威者。”塔利稱，“對於政府而言，收復失地非常重要。只有這樣，我們才能向人民提供服務。”
此外，泰國和平與秩序管理中心還向示威者發出警告，要求其遵守緊急狀態法、遠離曼谷市內被劃爲禁區的13個政府機構、25條道路和拉瑪八世橋，否則將面臨刑事指控。
而泰國特別調查廳則宣佈，將於27日要求法庭向首批16名違反緊急狀態法的“人民民主改革委員會”領導人簽發逮捕令，並勒令有關個人和組織停止向其提供援助和庇護。
