BIG TURNOUT IN DEEP SOUTH

Published on February 7, 2005

Despite fears of violence and a generally quiet political atmosphere over recent weeks, voters in the three southernmost provinces exceeded all expectations and turned up in large numbers to cast their ballots, election sources said yesterday.

Up to 10 voters per polling station in Narathiwat province were seen still queuing to cast their ballots at 3pm, when the stations closed.

Many missed out on voting as they were busy tapping rubber in plantations in the morning. Some expressed their disappointment when they were unable to reach the polling stations in time.

Still, the turnout was on the high side.

“We didn’t expect to see a lot of people coming to vote as many people said they feared violence would erupt,” said Narathiwat’s election director Prathep Wuthirattanakowit.

Narathiwat was the most sensitive area as many political activists and canvassers had been killed, sparking speculation that voters would be too afraid to go to the polls.

However, Prathep expected that at least 70 per cent of eligible voters in the province cast their ballots yesterday.

No violence was reported during the polling period between 8am and 3pm in all the three troubled provinces of Narathiiwat, Yala and Pattani.

Yala’s election director Udom Pattanawong said polling had taken place smoothly and without incident.

He said the turnout by eligible voters in Yala was expected to be the same as during the last election in 2001, when 75 per cent voted.

Pattani’s election director Sathien Maneeroj said a big weight had been lifted from his shoulders yesterday as voting took place peacefully and without incident.

Many poll stations in remote districts of Kapoh and Saiburi in Pattani were crowded with voters from start to finish.

Turnout in Pattani might reach 70 per cent as expected, said Sathien. Voters interviewed by The Nation said they had voted without fear although there were many rumours that militants might stage violent acts during the elections.

Abdulayi Machira, a villager of Ban Jor Bue Mae in Yala’s Raman district, said he was not fearful about voting and saw nothing wrong in casting ballots.

But Abdulayi said he was worried that many elderly villagers might cast invalid ballots because some were ignorant or did not fully understand the procedure, as election officials had not provided them with clear information.

Officials had not dared to visit the villagers to educate residents there, fearing their own safety would be at stake, he added.

The deep South has been rocked by violence since the beginning of last year, and more than 600 people have been slain.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation

NARATHIWAT

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