A small group of police stand guard last night outside the Thai-Japanese sports stadium in Din Daeng. This morning the area is filled with protesters trying to disrupt the election candidacy registration process PATTARAPONG CHATPATTARASILL
By Terry Fredrickson
The Election Commission (EC) yesterday said the candidacy registration process would begin today as scheduled while anti-government protest leaders have vowed to block it. We'll be watching throughout the day.
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Morning update
Anti-government protesters have surrounded both the Thai-Japanese sports stadium in Din Daeng and the local police station where complaints are being filed by party representatives unable to enter the stadium. However, many parties have been able to submit their documents by arriving as early as 3am before the protesters had the numbers to close the venue Both Phue Thai and Chat Thai Pattana have registered a complete set of party-list candidates 125 each.
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EC says poll sign-up will go ahead
Showdown set as Suthep vows to block venue
The Election Commission (EC) yesterday expressed confidence that no setbacks would hinder election candidacy registration opening today.
But anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban last night said protesters will block the venue to prevent election candidates from registering.
He urged protesters to march last night from Democracy Monument, the main venue of the anti-government demonstrations to the Thai-Japanese sports stadium in Din Daeng, the election candidacy registration venue and to stay overnight and throughout today.
After a two-hour meeting, EC commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said registration schedules remained unchanged and there would be no change of registration venue
The People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC)'s protesters yesterday organised a warm-up mass march to practise attempts to block the election candidate registration
The PDRC claimed about 3.5 million people joined its five main rally sites yesterday, while a security unit put the number at 270,000. The estimates from both sides were larger than those for the mass protest on Dec 9.
Mr Suthep announced last night at the Democracy Monument: "Whoever wants to enter the venue to register will have to sneak through our feet to get inside.
"No matter where the venue moves, we will [block it] everywhere," he said.
If the election takes place on Feb 2 as scheduled "millions of protesters will come out and close the city for the whole day, and close all provinces nationwide" .
Mr Somchai expressed confidence the "system" which the agency had set up was good enough to keep the candidacy registration secure from attempts to disrupt it.
"We have measures in place to make sure the registration will proceed smoothly There is no alternative venue There is no change of date," he said.
An EC source said the commission is likely to advise potential election candidates to file a complaint with police if they are unable to register.
The EC will later check with police which parties were unable to apply to contest the polls
Vocabulary
advise: to tell somebody what you think they should do in a particular situation - แนะนำ, แจ้ง
agency: a government department that provides a particular service - หน่วยงานราชการ
alternative: another choice - ทางเลือก, ตัวเลือก
apply: to make a formal request for permission to do or have something - ขอ, สมัคร (noun form: application การขอ, การสมัคร)
block: to stop someone/ something from moving through or along something else - ปิดกั้น, กีดขวาง
candidacy: the fact of being a candidate (= a person competing for a position) in an election - การเป็นผู้สมัคร,การเสนอตัว
candidate: a person who is trying to be elected - ผู้สมัครรับเลือกตั้ง
claim: to say that something is true although it has not been proved and other people may not believe it - อ้าง
commissioner: a member of a commission; a group of people who have been formally chosen to discover information about a problem or examine the reasons why the problem exists - กรรมาธิการ ผู้ได้รับมอบหมายอำนาจหน้าที่
complaint: when someone says that something is wrong or not satisfactory - การร้องเรียน
confidence: being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans, or the future - ความมั่นใจ
contest: to take part in a competition - ลงแข่ง
demonstration: an occasion when a group of people gather together to support or protest about something - การชุมนุม
disrupt: to prevent something from continuing as usual or as expected - ทำให้เสียกระบวน, ทำให้เสียระบบ, ทำให้สับสน
document: a paper or set of papers with written or printed information, especially of an official type - เอกสาร
Election Commission: the independent government agency that oversees elections - คณะกรรมการเลือกตั้ง
estimate: an amount that you guess or calculate using the information available - ประมาณการ
file a complaint: to make an official statement that someone has done something wrong - ยื่นคำร้อง
hinder: to hamper; to stop someone or something from making progess or developing - ขัดขวาง
local: in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about - ท้องถิ่น
mass: large numbers - จำนวนมาก
measure: a firm action taken to solve a problem or stop a dangerous unpleasant situation - มาตราการ
monument: a statue or building that is built to honour a special person or event - อนุสาวรีย์ หรืออนุสรณ์สถาน
nationwide: throughout a whole country - ทั่วทั้งประเทศ
no matter (who, what, etc.): always true, whatever the situation is - ไม่ว่าในกรณีใด, มิไย
overnight: the period of one night - ข้ามคืน
party-list: a system that gives each party in an election a number of seats in relation to the number of votes its candidates receive - ระบบสัดส่วน, ระบบปาร์ตี้ลิสต์
polls: an election - การเลือกตั้ง
potential: possible in the future - ที่อาจเป็นไปได้
proceed: to carry out an activity - ดำเนินการ
process: a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result - แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
protest: a meeting or rally, sometimes forceful or violent, of people who strongly disagree with something - ชุมนุมประท้วง
protester: someone who shows that they disagree with something by standing somewhere, shouting, carrying signs, etc - ผู้ต่อต้าน, ผู้ประท้วง
rally: a large public gathering of people to support someone or to protest against something - การชุมนุม
registration: the process of recording names or information on an official list - การขึ้นทะเบียน, การลงทะเบียน
representative: someone who has been chosen or elected by a person or group to vote, give opinions, or make decisions for them - ผู้แทน
scheduled: planned to happen at a particular time or day - ตามตารางเวลา
secure: safe from attack or harm - ปลอดภัย
security: protection; systems providing for safety from attack, harm, or damage - ระบบรักษาความปลอดภัย
setback: something that happens which delays or prevents a process from advancing - การหยุดยั้งการก้าวหน้า,ความล้มเหลว,การถอยหลัง
showdown: a big fight, meeting, argument, etc. that settles a disagreement between people and proves who is the best or strongest - การเผชิญหน้า
site: a place where something is located - สถานที่
smoothly: happening or continuing without any problems - โดยไม่มีปัญหา
sneak: to go somewhere secretly, trying to avoid being seen - เดินหลบ,เดินลับ ๆ ล่อ ๆ
source: someone who gives information - แหล่งข่าว
stand guard: to watch or protect somebody/something - เฝ้ายาม, ดูแล, รักษาความปลอดภัย
submit: to formally give something to someone so that they can make a decision about it - ยื่น เสนอ (เอกสาร) ให้พิจารณา
surround: to be everywhere around someone/something; encircle - ล้อมรอบ
system: an organised set of ideas or theories or a particular way of doing something - ระบบ, หลักการ
unit: a group of people who work or live together, especially for a particular purpose - หน่วย,กอง,กลุ่ม
urge: to advise someone very strongly about what action or attitude they should take - ผลักดัน, กระตุ้น
venue: the place where an activity or event happens - สถานที่ที่จัดงาน
vow: to make a formal and serious promise to do something - สาบาน, ปฏิญาณ
