Rotting tonnes of egg and fish sauce, intended as bribes, have had to be destroyed because of the smell. Officials at the Election Commission impounded the food, a pungent local delicacy doled out by candidates to constituents to secure their vote at the polls. The vote-buying frenzy will culminate on election eve, known as the Night of the Howling Dogs, as party canvassers armed with rolls of banknotes make their final deliveries to villages around the country, setting off the canine population as they go. One telecommunications tycoon who is favourite to become the next prime minister could face a five-year ban from politics. Mr Thaksin has rejected calls to step down.
Successful candidates consider the outlay to be money well spent.
Elected office can provide them with everything from access to lucrative government contracts for their relatives and cronies to pay-offs by local criminal gangs. More than 30 political murders, mostly of local party activists and canvassers, have been recorded during the campaign. For the first time in Thai political history, the commission has disqualified candidates accused of vote-buying. With several re-runs expected in constituencies where there are accusations of skulduggery, it could be weeks before the composition of the new parliament is clear. Mr Thaksin's wealth would once have made him untouchable in a hierarchical society like Thailand.