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Thai constituencies start voting at 8:00 AM (01:00 GMT) Wednesday for the senatorial election which held once in six-years.

The polls, in which more than 44 million Thais are eligible to cast ballots, will elect a total of 200 senators, with Bangkok having the largest share of 18.

Foreigner observers from more than 20 countries worldwide are ready to observe Wednesday's senatorial election. They are scheduled to witness the senatorial polls in a number of northeastern and southern provinces and compare the transparency of the voting process in Thailand with balloting and vote-counting conducted in other countries.

An advance voting has been held during April 13-14 and caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra cast his ballot last Wednesday near his Bangkok residence at Bang Plad constituency.

The role of the senatorial president include ensuring smooth proceedings in Senate meetings, coordinating with related agencies, such as the House of Representative (lower parliamentary house), and receiving complaints from voters who seek to oust political officials.

He is also authorized to confirm royal commands for appointments to constitutional bodies, such as the Constitution Court and Election Commission and to give a casting vote on deciding if a Senate vote should be tied.

The country organized its first senatorial election on March 4,2000, which was part of a political reform, aimed to eliminate vote buying and other irregular practices, and create free and fair elections eventually.

The senatorial elections carried out under the latest constitution adopted in October 1997 aimed at cleaning up Thai politics of blatant graft, influence-peddling and weak coalition governments.

According to the law, senatorial candidates must not be members of any political party. Candidates are also banned from campaigning as they are only allowed to put up small signboards or hand out cards to introduce themselves.

(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2006)