If the number of people registering exceeds the available slots, they are selected by drawing lots. On conscription day, eligible recruits will pick cards from an opaque box.
Their fate depends on the colour of the card they draw.
Those who pick red will be enlisted for two years, while those who choose a black card can go home.
The country’s 2024 military draft took place from April 1 to 12.
When the two stunning looking transgender women showed up at a registration centre located in the Kaset Wisai district, central northeastern Thailand, they attracted a great deal of attention.
Parida Kerayuphan, 21, a student at Sripatum University in Bangkok, is a campus ambassador due to her attractive appearance, and has 69,000 followers on Instagram.
Kantong Passarapon, 21, is another transgender woman who has reportedly participated in about a hundred beauty pageants and has won championship titles. Fans call her the “Thai Bay Angel”.
They went to the recruiting office with a certificate of gender reassignment surgery to apply for an exemption.
In Thailand, transgender people can apply for exemption from military service if they can provide relevant medical certificates, but they still need to report to the conscription unit.
The pairs’ dazzling presence in the otherwise austere military setting, sparked a heated discussion on social media.
“It feels like a beauty pageant rather than a conscription lottery site,” one online observer on Instagram said.
“As a woman, I have a feeling of inferiority,” said another.
The Thai army usually recruits between 80,000 and 100,000 soldiers each year, depending on the birth rate.
A spokesman for Thailand’s Ministry of Defence said that 40,000 of the required 85,000 places would be recruited via lottery this year.
Thai men usually receive letters giving conscription information at the age of 17 and are required to reply.
If they are unwilling to take part they must join the lottery held every April.
It is possible to be legally exempt from the military draft in certain cases.
For example, by undergoing a three-year reserve officer training programme in high school.
Additionally, disabled individuals and monks with a higher level of Buddhist education can also receive permanent exemptions.
People who do not turn up for military service selection in the draft can face up to three years in prison.
