BANGKOK, Thailand – Thailand’s Election Commission (EC) reported a series of disruptions during Sunday’s vote, including arrests for vote-buying and incidents of ballot destruction.
EC Deputy Secretary-Generals Phatsakorn Siriphakayaporn and Chanin Noylek told reporters that while turnout has been active, several legal violations were recorded. Authorities have arrested individuals for suspected vote-buying in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ratchaburi, and Surat Thani, seizing over 185,000 baht in cash along with voter lists.
The commission also confirmed cases of intoxicated voters tearing ballots and a procedural error in Nan province where election officials accidentally damaged 69 ballots. Officials warned that both voters and staff face legal action for damaging election materials.
“We will prosecute anyone found photographing marked ballots or posting them on social media,” Chanin said, emphasizing that strict monitoring remains in place across nearly 100,000 polling stations nationwide. (TNA)
