EC rejects talk of election nullification because of errors in early voting
The Election Commission (EC) chairman on Tuesday ruled out nullification of the May 14 general election due to errors in advance voting on Sunday.
EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong said that so far there was no factor to warrant nullification of the May 14 election.
“As of now, there is no factor to nullify the election. No matter what the results of the May 14 election, they will be so,” Ittiporn said.
Ittiporn was responding to questions of reporters about errors detected in advance voting on Sunday.
Among the errors, the EC Office found that officials at the advance voting station in Nonthaburi province had put down wrong codes on envelopes before sending the ballots of the first 100 voters to their respective constituencies. The EC found that officials had used postal codes instead of the EC’s correct provincial and constituency codes on the envelopes.
In Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Muang district, the casting of votes was delayed for 141 registered voters after strong winds blew away the ballot papers.
The incorrect addressing on the envelopes gave fresh ammunition to an activist group called “We Love Thailand” to step up its campaign for the removal of the seven EC commissioners.
The group started its campaign on Change.org last year, accusing the current EC of making mistakes in the 2019 election. Among other things, it held the current EC responsible for the failure to bring in ballots cast by Thai expats in New Zealand in time for the vote counting.
But after the errors in Nonthaburi were acknowledged by the EC Office, the group changed its main theme to the latest incident. It has set a goal to gather 1.5 million signatures to push for their removal. So far, the petition has been signed by 1.22 million Thais.
Despite the campaign, Ittiporn said he did not feel that the EC was targeted by any group.
He said it was good that the public was helping to monitor the work of the EC so that mistakes could be addressed in time.
The incorrect addressing of the envelopes was insignificant because only 100 were mistakenly addressed among 2.2 million voters who registered for advance voting, he said.
Moreover, the mistakes were corrected after the early voting stations were closed at 5pm and officials would make sure that the envelopes would be mailed to the correct constituencies.
EC Office secretary-general Sawang Boonmee backed Ittiporn up, saying the office has instructed provincial election directors nationwide to recheck envelopes with ballots before handing them over to Thailand Post for mailing.
Ittiporn added that the EC commissioners would be ready to defend themselves legally if someone cited the errors to file a lawsuit that they had committed malfeasance or violated Article 157 of the Criminal Code.
Regarding allegations of vote buying in Bangkok’s Kong Sam Wa district, Ittiporn said the EC was still investigating all complaints it had received.
