In a departure from the usual pre-election process, the atmosphere surrounding the April 2 election seems pointedly hushed.

There are no posters, no banners, no billboards hanging from electricity poles, no leaflets introducing candidates, and even no rivals to speak of in 131 constituencies in 44 provinces.

With the opposition parties' boycott, Thai Rak Thai seems set to win the election by a landslide, with the only competition coming from small or little-known parties. That might explain why Thai Rak Thai candidates seem in no hurry to launch their election campaigns.

With just 23 days to go, Thai Rak Thai candidates have yet to launch the poster campaigns, which would normally be adorning electricity poles countrywide by now. It seems they have conceded that the campaign atmosphere this time is different to previous elections due to the major parties' - including the Democrats, Chat Thai, and Mahachon Party - decision to boycott.

Anusorn Punthong, Thai Rak Thai's candidate in constituency 5, Bangkok, said that most candidates have had little time to prepare. He added that his posters are still in production and will be launched along with his campaign, next month.

He also said that he had only ordered a small number of posters due to the lack of competition. "Normally, we allow for posters being damaged or removed by rivals," he added.

Pimuk Simaroj, Thai Rak Thai candidate for constituency 28, Bangkok, said that this election would certainly be less colourful without any major opposition party candidates running. Pimuk said that candidates in general elections usually have to fight for space for their posters, adding that there is unlikely to be such a struggle this time around.

"The fact that candidates will not have to struggle to secure a space for their posters has added to the more relaxed attitude," he said.

Candidates in the provinces have also cited the lack of preparation time as the reason behind the non-existent poster campaigns and they agree that the opposition parties' decision to boycott has seriously dented the election campaign atmosphere.

"I may order far fewer posters than I have for previous elections," commented Somboon Praiwan, the Thai Rak Thai candidate for Mae Hong Son.

Atthasit Kankai Sappayasit, the Thai Rak Thai candidate in Nakhon Phanom said he also believed the snap election would be incomparable to elections in the past - mainly because there were no significant rivals.

In addition, uncertainty over whether or not the April 2 election will actually take place may also be causing concern among candidates' and dampening their enthusiasm.

However, Atthasit dismissed this notion, saying, "MPs need to be fully prepared for the election."

It's hoped, and expected, that voters will be enthusiastic about the election and take the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

After all, anyone who is unsatisfied with the candidates has the option of ticking the box marked "abstain".

Budsarakham Silapalavan

The Nation