The Latest: Thai king warns about bad people gaining power

Polling officers set up a polling station where Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is scheduled to cast his vote in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, March 24, 2019. Thailand's first general election since the military seized power in a 2014 coup is scheduled to be held on Sunday. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

BANGKOK – The Latest on Thailand's general election (all times local):

9:10 a.m.

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has issued a statement as Thais vote in their first election since a 2014 coup that says the role of leaders is to stop "bad people" from gaining power and causing chaos.

Invoking a speech by his father, the previous Thai king who died in 2016 after reigning for seven decades, Vajiralongkorn said not all citizens can be transformed into good people so leaders must be given support in ruling to create a peaceful nation.

He urged government officials, soldiers and civil servants to look after national security.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the army chief who led the 2014 coup, is hoping to extend his hold on power after engineering a new political system that aims to stifle the influence of big political parties not aligned with the military

___

8 a.m.

Voting is underway in Thailand's first election since the military ousted an elected government in a 2014 coup.

Prime Minister Prayuth Cha-cha, the army chief who led the coup, is hoping to extend his time in power after engineering a new political system that aims to stifle the influence of big political parties not aligned with the military.

About 51 million Thais are eligible to vote Sunday. Leaders of civilian political parties have urged a high turnout as the only way to derail Prayuth's plans.

The election is the latest chapter in a nearly two-decade struggle between conservative forces including the military and the political machine of Thaksin Shinawatra, a tycoon who upended tradition-bound Thailand's politics with a populist political revolution.