EC rejects calls to recount ballots in Chon Buri Constituency 1

The Election Commission (EC) held a press briefing at its office on the parliamentary election and referendum at 5pm on Thursday (February 12).

The briefing was led by Narong Klunwarin, Chairman of the EC, together with Narong Rakroi, Election Commissioner, Sawang Boonmee, the EC Secretary-General, and deputy secretary-generals Karnchit Charoen-in and Sub-Lieutenant Phasakorn Siripakdayaporn.

Sub-Lieutenant Phasakorn said the issue in Chon Buri Constituency 1 related to the ballot-box consolidation process after vote counting had finished.

Once each polling station completes counting, the polling station committee submits the official count report and the ballot boxes to the designated district EC location.

After receipt is confirmed, the next step is to consolidate the ballot boxes by cutting the cable ties, combining documents and ballot packets into as few boxes as possible, sorting paperwork, and then sending everything on to the provincial EC office.

He said some observers went to the consolidation site (a municipal gym in Constituency 1) and called for a recount.

The EC said a recount can be ordered only under legally defined circumstances, so it assigned Karnchit to first establish the facts, such as whether objections were raised during voting or during counting, before deciding whether a recount or a new election should be ordered.

Karnchit said there were protesters at the site and 10 petitioners.

The petitions raised three issues: (1) a power outage at a polling station, (2) an alleged mismatch between the number of voters who showed up and the number of ballot papers, and (3) claims that vote counting was incorrect.

He said six people gave statements, but all said they did not witness the alleged incidents themselves.

On the power outage claim, he said the clip cited in the complaint was not from Chon Buri and, in fact, related to Nonthaburi.

For Chon Buri Constituency 1, the EC checked with the Provincial Electricity Authority and said there was a power outage affecting four polling units (Units 36–39) in Saensuk subdistrict for 40 minutes.

Units 37–39 had already finished counting, so they were not affected.

Only Unit 36 had not finished; officials paused counting and resumed once power was restored, and no objections were raised during the process.

On the alleged mismatch between voter turnout and ballot papers, he said the petition did not clearly specify which polling unit was affected, only referring to Units 11–15 at Wat Samet and claiming the tabulation was unusually slow.

The EC said it checked Units 11–15 and found the timing was broadly similar across the units, with no irregularities identified.

On the claim that ballots were misread or counted incorrectly, he said the petition again did not specify where the problem occurred.

The EC said it reviewed all 160+ polling units in the constituency and found no formal objections during counting, concluding that the count was conducted correctly.

The EC also addressed reports about ballot boxes not being sealed with cable ties and allegations that tally documents were found in a bin.

Karnchit said the collection point was moved from the usual community hall to the municipal gym because the former location had become too cramped, and the gym allowed easier vehicle movement.

He said the consolidation work was about 90% complete, with about 10% of documents still stacked at the gym when a crowd gathered, preventing vehicles from moving the remaining materials.

He said the documents in question had not been discarded, and he stated there was no rubbish bin inside the gym, only piles of documents yet to be cleared.

On the cable ties, he said the ties seen in footage were those already used at polling stations.

During consolidation, officials must cut off the ties and collect them together.

A few unused ties were described as spares left over from polling stations, not ties intended to be used at the consolidation point.

Based on the fact-finding, the EC said there was no credible evidence that the election in Chon Buri Constituency 1 was not conducted honestly and fairly, or that counting was incorrect.

It said there were therefore no grounds to order a recount, citing Section 124 of the Organic Act on the Election of Members of the House of Representatives 2018 and Regulation 223 of the EC’s election rules, and it said the matter should be closed.

Narong said the EC convened immediately once the issue arose, but stressed that decisions must be based on sufficient information.

He said the EC weighed the evidence from both complainants and officials, and insisted the EC would not risk its reputation by acting improperly.

He also said the EC reviewed not only the three petition points but also the broader integrity of the counting and aggregation process.

Karnchit added that a tally sheet appeared in photos because, in at least one polling unit, it was not placed inside the outer document bag when materials were packed into the ballot box after counting.

As a result, when the box was opened, the sheet was not inside the bag and could be taken out, whereas it would not have been retrievable if it had been packed correctly.

The EC also exercised its authority under Section 121 to order new voting due to force majeure and operational errors:

• Bangkok (District 15, Polling Station 9): A re-run has been ordered for constituency ballots, party-list ballots, and the referendum, after heavy rain damaged ballot papers and tally-marking forms.
• Nan (Constituency 1, Polling Station 3): A re-run has been ordered only for the constituency ballot, after polling officials tore a ballot incorrectly, cutting across a candidate’s number, making it impossible to adjudicate the ballot.
• Udon Thani (Constituency 6, Polling Station 4): A re-run has been ordered only for the party-list ballot, after polling officials tore a ballot across a political party’s number.

Note: For Nan and Udon Thani, the EC has ordered a complete replacement of the entire polling station committee to prevent the same errors from recurring.