Thais urged to vote in Feb 2 election

BANGKOK, December 21 (TNA) - Thailand's caretaker government has called on all eligible voters, including anti-government protesters, to cast their ballots in the new general election, set on February 2, 2014 by a Royal Decree issued on December 9, 2013. Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul (สุรพงษ์ โตวิจักษณ์ชัยกุล), in his capacity as chief of the government's Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO), made the call in his latest address to the public, broacast live nationwide on Saturday. Surapong insisted that the caretaker government is legitimate, based on the constitutional framework, and state officials are to perform their duties in accordance with the laws. Caretaker Justice Minister Chaikasem Nitisiri (ชัยเกษม นิติสิริ) then told the public that the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has informed banks to freeze the accounts of more than 20 PDRC leaders and has summoned them to acknowledge the charges of insurrection.(TNA)