What you need to know for Bangkok elections on May 22

To be eligible to vote, Bangkokians must:

• Be Thai nationals or have been naturalised as Thai citizens for at least five years.
• Be over 18 years old.
• Have household registration in an electoral district for at least a year.

People who have switched their house registration in the past year will have the right to vote in their previous electoral district.

Voting in Thai elections is compulsory.

People unable to visit a polling station on May 22 will retain their voting rights for seven days if they give a valid reason for not voting to the Election Commission (EC) via the websites www.bora.dopa.go.th and www.ect.go.th or the Smart Vote app.

The EC will inform applicants within three days of whether their reason is valid. Applicants have 30 days after the election in which to appeal the decision.

People who do not vote and fail to report a valid reason to the EC will be banned for two years from registering for:

• Elections for MP or senator, local administrations and local councils
• Elections for communal elder (kamnan) and village headman (phu yai baan)
• Petitions to remove local administration or local council members
• A political or parliamentary post
• A local administration post
• A local council post