Majority of polled Thai residents willing to vote in February 2 election

Some 79.6 percent of 1,018 polled Thai residents in a recent survey have expressed willingness to cast their votes during the Feb. 2 election despite escalating violence and protests. Results of the survey by Bangkok University, which were released Friday, showed that 9.9 percent of respondents said they would not go voting and 10.5 percent expressed hesitation. About half of the respondents supported the scheduled Feb.2 election while 20.4 percent said they preferred postponement. According to the poll results, 21.6 percent of surveyed people agree with a military coup while 56 percent disagree. Thai Constitutional Court said Thursday it would handle the dispute since either Thailand's Election Commission or the caretaker government has the right to postpone the election, and a ruling over the conflict is expected to be released Friday. The EC has persistently urged Yingluck's cabinet to reschedule the election from Feb. 2 to May 4 to avoid anticipated unrest and violence at polling units, especially those in the capital and southern provinces, while the government has insisted that it has no authority to defer the election.