Election Commission seeking 5 billion baht to hold the next general election
Thailand’s Election Commission is seeking about 5 billion baht to hold the upcoming general election in 2023, its chairman Ittiporn Boonprakong said on Saturday.
He said the agency has made its request to the Budget Bureau.
It cost 4.2 billion baht to hold the last general election in March 2019.
Next year’s election will cost more because the number of constituencies has risen from 350 to 400, and voters will receive two ballots instead of one, Ittiporn explained.
Moreover, the number of election officials required for each voting station will rise from five to nine, he added.
The commission has tentatively scheduled the next general election for May 7. The date may change if the House of Representatives is dissolved before its four-year term ends on March 23.
Ittiporn said preparations for the election were already underway.
Provincial election directors from all over the country had attended meetings to discuss their implementation plans, he said.
“There were two such [nationwide] meetings, one from August 17-19 and the other from November 30 to December 2. We are also in the process of preparing equipment and personnel,” Ittiporn said.
The EC is currently focused on issuing regulations to comply with the newly amended electoral and political party laws, including the establishment of political party branches and the selection of provincial party representatives.
