Fear and fatigue cloud Thailand by-elections

NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Apr 22 : Fear and fatigue loomed large in Thailand's restive Muslim south today as officials beefed up security on the eve of by-elections unlikely to resolve a constitutional crisis.

Double or triple the number of police and troops would be deployed around 466 polling stations in Narathiwat province on Sunday, four days after five people were killed in bomb and gun attacks during Senate elections, officials said.

In addition to the deaths of two security men and three civilians, 30 people were wounded in one of the three southernmost provinces where more than 1,100 people have been killed in two years of separatist violence.

The government decided to beef up security after intelligence reports suggested there would be more attacks during tomorrow's by-elections, Interior Minister Kongsak Wantana told reporters.

''It is all dangerous in Narathiwat, either in the city or in the countryside,'' election chief Prateep Wuttirattanakowit said.

But even if violence does not disrupt voting in the by-elections being boycotted by the main opposition parties, some parliamentary seats are almost certain to remain unfilled, meaning no immediate end to the constitutional crisis.

Most by-elections are being held in the southern stronghold of the Democrat Party, one of those that boycotted a snap April 2 general election Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called in hopes of defeating a street campaign to oust him.

Around half the 40 seats at stake are contested only by Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party and a candidate has to get 20 per cent of the eligible vote to win in a region where the government is very unpopular. Unless all its seats are filled, parliament cannot convene, no new prime minister can be elected to replace Thaksin and no new government can be formed. Thaksin has handed over day-to-day power to a deputy and says he will not seek the job.

''NO VOTE'' The Election Commission says it might have to hold another round of by-elections, possibly before the May 2 constitutional deadline for parliament to meet within 30 days of a general election.

But some analysts say they cannot see unopposed Thai Rak Thai candidates winning no matter how many by-elections are held in the Muslim south where Thaksin's predominantly Buddhist government is accused of failing to deal with separatist violence.

A considerable proportion of those who head for the voting booths are expected to abstain, as they are allowed to.

''Yes, I will go to vote and tick the 'no vote' again,'' Zid, a Muslim state employee in his 50s, said after yesterday prayers.

''Many of those big cheeses in Bangkok are people who used to work here and climbed up the hierarchy over the bodies of people here. This is a never-healed wound.'' The persistent violence in the south has deterred campaign rallies while Thaksin's unpopularity has prompted Thai Rak Thai candidates to avoid using the party logo.

The by-elections, the third poll in a month, are likely to draw lower turnouts, election officials said.

''To be honest, people are tired of elections, both organisers and voters,'' said Padoongyot Duangmala, chairman of the election committee in neighbouring Pattani province.

REUTERS