Thailand holds senatorial election

BANGKOK (Xinhua) - Thailand's senatorial election started Sunday morning, with no disruption from anti-government protesters reported as yet.

Voting started at 8 a.m. local time at all polling stations in 77 provinces nationwide, including the capital Bangkok, and is set to end at 3 p.m.

The election is expected to fill the seats of elected senators, whose six-year term will expire on Monday.

The Senate comprises 150 seats, with a senator elected from each of 77 provinces, and the rest appointed.

The vote count at all polling stations is expected to be completed by 8 p.m., said Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, member of the Election Commission. He has urged all eligible voters to cast their ballots.

About 100,000 police officers have been deployed to provide security at all polling units nationwide, said assistant national police chief Aree Onchit.  

The voting has so far proceeded peacefully without signs of violence, Aree said.

A bomb exploded in the southern Narathiwat province in the morning, leaving two policemen killed and three others injured. The five were on their way to a polling station for the Senate election.

The bomb was reportedly detonated by militants, but it remains uncertain whether it was aimed directly at disrupting the voting, as Narathiwat was one of Thailand's three Muslim, ethnic-Malay dominated southern border provinces plagued with insurgent violence.