BANGKOK, Thailand – The Constitutional Court on Wednesday unanimously rejected a petition challenging the election commission’s use of barcodes on party-list ballots, ruling that the complaint lacked legal standing. The petition had sought a ruling on whether the Election Commission (EC) and its office violated the constitution by printing barcodes on the ballots used for party-list voting. However, the court said that the petitioner failed to demonstrate any direct violation of their rights or liberties, or prove they had suffered damages from the commission’s actions. The petition merely constitutes an expression of the petitioner’s personal opinion, the court said. It added that the complainant failed to provide sufficient arguments or evidence to show how the use of barcodes compromised the secrecy of the vote. Consequently, the court ruled that the petitioner did not meet the constitutional criteria required to file the case and dismissed the petition. (TNA)
