Thai Embassies and Consulates Begin Election and Referendum Voting from January 19-28, 2026
Thai embassies abroad open voting and referendums from January 19-28, 2026. Ballots for MPs will be sent back to Thailand; referendums counted at embassies.
The Thai Embassy, Thai Consulates, and the Thai Trade and Economic Offices abroad have started the process of holding elections and referendums for Thai citizens residing overseas.
For example, in South Korea, voting for the overseas Thai election has been open from January 19-28, 2026. In South Korea, nearly 7,000 people have registered to vote, with around 3,100 votes by mail, 2,300 votes at the embassy in Seoul, and more than 1,400 via mobile voting units. Additionally, over 4,500 people have registered to vote in the referendum.
Meanwhile, the Thai Embassy in Paris, France, has announced an extension for the deadline to send back election ballots. It was reported that many people have not yet received their election documents and referendum ballots, as the French postal service had not yet dispatched all documents due to a central data system error within the postal service.
However, the French postal service has now corrected the error and expedited the dispatch process. As a result, the Embassy has extended the deadline for receiving election documents from January 30, 2026, to February 2, 2026. People residing in Paris or nearby areas may also submit their election documents in person at the embassy.
For citizens participating in the election and referendum abroad, each Thai embassy and consulate will conduct voting according to their own system, which may include different formats such as:
- Mail-in voting, where voters send their ballots back to the embassy or consulate within the designated timeframe,
- In-person voting at the embassy or consulate,
- Mobile voting units, where voters can cast their ballots at designated locations.
Once voting is completed, the embassies and consulates will send the ballots back to Thailand to be counted in the respective electoral districts.
However, for the referendum ballots, the embassies and consulates will count the votes on-site, in accordance with the law, which mandates that the votes must be counted within 48 hours. The counting will begin on February 8, 2026, at 5:00 PM, and the results will then be reported back to Thailand.
