BANGKOK, Thailand – The Election Commission (EC) is accelerating investigations into election-related complaints as it prepares to formally announce results from the parliamentary election and the national referendum. Authorities said the review process is addressing allegations ranging from ballot damage to protests during vote counting and claims of vote buying.
In Nan province, the commission is awaiting a detailed report from local election officials following an incident in which a polling station committee member allegedly tore 69 ballot papers. The inquiry will determine when the incident occurred and whether it violated election laws or regulations before being submitted for further consideration.
Other reported cases are also under review, and provincial election offices have been instructed to submit official vote reports for verification. These include a protest in Pathum Thani province where students called for a recount. Officials said most issues have involved out-of-area and overseas voting, but recounts conducted so far have produced results close to the original tallies and did not change the winning candidates.
Election officials said technical problems affecting the vote reporting system have been resolved, with reported results now covering about 94 percent of all constituencies. Provincial offices are consolidating official vote totals from all 400 constituencies and forwarding them to the central election authority for confirmation.
As of February 9, a total of 113 complaints had been filed, with vote-buying allegations accounting for the largest share. Of these, 107 cases have been accepted for formal investigation. Under election law, official results may be announced once at least 95 percent of the candidates’ results have been verified and must be released within 60 days of election day. (NNT)
