Top EC officials inspect venues for provincial phase of Senate election

The EC chairman encouraged and provided guidelines to officials, stressing the importance of thoroughness, adherence to the law, and transparency, particularly in the vote-counting process, which must be clear and observable by monitors.

Overall, the atmosphere was positive, with officials demonstrating a good understanding of the procedures and readiness for the provincial Senate elections scheduled for Sunday (June 16), he said.

Meanwhile, EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee, along with Bangkok officials, inspected the preparations and conducted drills for the Bangkok Senate elections. The preparations included training sessions and the organisation of necessary equipment for the election.

In Bangkok, the elections will be held at the Vayupak Convention Center, Centara Hotel, Government Complex, on the third and fourth floors, which will host the initial round of voting for 20 groups of candidates, followed by the second round on the fourth floor, where the candidates will be divided into groups.

Sawaeng said that rehearsals had been conducted twice, and the smaller scale of this Senate election should make the process easier to manage. Officials will facilitate candidates and ensure public participation in the observation process. 

"Candidates must arrive before 9am, and being even a second late is unacceptable. Therefore, candidates must plan their travel and manage traffic conditions efficiently," Sawaeng said.

He emphasised that the voting venue was not a place to introduce candidates, but candidates could interact with one another. After the first round of voting, there will be time in the second round for candidates to review the profiles of others in their group. In cases where a group has only one candidate, cross-voting will involve placing the vote in the collective ballot box of other groups to ensure direct and confidential voting as required by law.

He said that the distribution of candidate introduction documents would be limited to those within the same group to prevent an overwhelming amount of paperwork. 

During the group division round, each group will consist of no more than 25 people from five groups, allowing them to study each other's information within around an hour.

Dr Wantanee Wathana, permanent secretary of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, said that Bangkok was fully prepared for the election. On Sunday, beginning at 5am, all officials will be ready to welcome more than 1,600 district-level candidates for registration starting at 8am. Candidates are requested to arrive by 9am, with rooms and equipment already prepared for all 20 groups.

Observers and media personnel who have not yet registered have been urged to complete the registration process to ensure transparency, integrity, and fairness in Bangkok's Senate election, in line with the EC's commitment. 

Observers, including the public and media, must follow regulations, refrain from interviewing candidates, influencing, or causing any deviations, and will be allowed to participate in the observation process. The central command room will display alternating footage from each voting room, and all rooms will have audio and video recordings. If any issues arise, this information can be used for review and action.

Speaking about the upcoming Constitutional Court ruling on whether four articles of the Organic Law on the Election of Senators were unconstitutional, Sawaeng requested patience for four more days until the court’s decision. He stressed that the EC must make preparations for all possible outcomes. However, he declined to address a query on whether the current election would be annulled if the court finds the articles unconstitutional.