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Foreigners living in Thailand have been taking to social media to slam this weekend’s alcohol ban due to local elections.
The sale and distribution of alcohol and even parties with alcohol are banned from 6pm Saturday to 6 pm Sunday for the Provincial Administration Organisation elections.
Foreigners, of course, have no right to vote.
Weddings and parties can go ahead but they must be dry, reported Sophon Cable TV in Pattaya saying that violators will go to jail for six months or be fined 10,000 baht.
When the ban was announced earlier in the week many foreigners went online to say it should not apply to them. English language print media in Thailand is reporting that the elections will be a “damp squib” with many Thais not even bothering to vote.
D.R. on facebook asked angrily: “What the #### is having a beer got to do with putting an X on a ballot paper?”
Y.A. called it and other government measures against drinkers a “ridiculous war on alcohol” adding: “Farang can’t vote and should be exempted from this foolishness”.
Many clicked “Like” to those suggestions.
Mr M chipped in: “Why should people on holiday…..be subjected to (this)?”
M-san suggested it was a “ridiculous law”.
Taking Pattaya as an example there are just 228,140 registered voters in Bang Lamung district.
Many will say just those might be banned from drinking, not visitors on a potentially busy pre-Christmas weekend that could provide much needed income in these disastrous economic times caused by the pandemic. .
Others think that even stopping registered voters is a waste of time.
Some people went online to say that there will be queues for alcohol before the ban.
Others felt it would be ignored but Pattaya’s police and those in other areas of the country have been told by RTP chiefs to strictly enforce the law.
Meanwhile non-drinkers or those with well stocked fridges told the complainers to “get over themselves – this is Thailand”.
(Source: – Thai Visa News)