Registration of candidates for the much-awaited election scheduled for March 24 will begin tomorrow morning (Monday) for all 350 constituencies nationwide.

Special attention, however, will focus on Bangkok where the battle for the 30 House seats at stake is expected to be fierce. The five-day registration period will end on Friday.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced today that it was ready for registration of candidates from all parties at the registration centre at the sport stadium at the Thai-Japan Youths Centre in Din Daeng.

City permanent secretary Mrs Silpasuey Raveesaengsoon and Ms Wichuda Mekhanuwong, director of Bangkok election committee, today checked the readiness of the registration venue and the officials to be deployed to accept the application forms from constituency candidates.

The sports stadium which has the capacity to accommodate about 1,500 people has been swept with bomb detectors to ensure security. Hundreds of supporters of the candidates are expected to show up inside and outside the stadium.

Ms Wichuda said that supporters could cheer on their candidates until the latter have picked their poll numbers through lot drawing after which the cheering must stop or the supporters could be charged with violating the election law.

She said that the candidates after receiving the poll numbers cannot ride on their campaign trucks and start campaigning with their numbers shown publicly while leaving the registration venue.

Traditionally, the first day of the registration of election candidacy is like a carnival festival as many candidates will bring their supporters with gongs and long drums to cheer them up when they draw lots to choose the poll numbers.