ECT Confirms No Recount Ordered for Chonburi District 1

Today (12 Feb) , Reporters reported that on (11 Feb) 5:00 PM at the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) office, Mr. Narong Klanwarin, Chairman of the ECT, along with Mr. Saweang Boonmee, Secretary-General of the ECT, Mr. Krachit Charoeninth, Deputy Secretary-General of the ECT, and Acting Sub-Lieutenant Phaskorn Siriphakayaporn, Deputy Secretary-General of the ECT, held a press conference regarding the progress of the 2026 general election and the referendum, following a meeting that had been held since 10:00 AM.

Mr. Narong stated that he and the working team would present the truth on every issue without concealment and welcomed all questions. He added that the ECT, as the agency responsible for managing the election and referendum, acts in accordance with the Constitution, laws, and regulations.

Acting Sub-Lieutenant Phasakon stated that ECT meeting ordered a re-vote. The first case is in Khan Na Yao District, Constituency 15, polling station 9, Khan Na Yao Subdistrict, due to damage to ballots and tally sheets caused by a storm. ECT investigated the facts based on a report from the district EC director and, exercising its authority under Section 121 of the Organic Law on the Election of Members of Parliament, ordered a re-vote for both constituency and party-list MPs, as well as the referendum, at this polling station on February 22, 2026. The second case is in Nan Province, Constituency 1, Mueang Nan District, polling station 3, Chaiyathan Subdistrict. This is because the polling station officials suspended the counting of votes after discovering that 69 ballots had been torn, overlapping the candidate numbers, making it impossible to determine their validity. Therefore, the counting was suspended, and the report was submitted to the district ECT, which then recommended a re-vote. Based on Section 121 of the Organic Law on the Election of Members of Parliament, a re-vote will be held for the constituency-based parliamentary election in Constituency 1, Mueang Nan District, Polling Station 3, Chaiyathan Mai Subdistrict, on February 22, 2026, along with the appointment of a new Polling Station Committee.

Sub-Lieutenant Phasakorn further stated that, in the third case, Udon Thani Province, a Polling Station Committee tore up a party-list ballot, crossing over the party number. This was discovered during the vote counting process, leading to the suspension of counting and a report to the district ECT, which then proposed a re-vote. Constituency 6, Chaiyawan District, Polling Station 4, was therefore ordered to be held on 22 Feb, with the appointment of a new Polling Station Committee. In the fourth case, Maha Sarakham Province, Constituency 1, an objection was raised regarding a vote tally sign installed at the Constituency 1 Election Coordination Center in Mueang Maha Sarakham District. Due to discrepancies in the vote counts for some candidates, the district ECT reviewed the vote count reports from all polling stations and found that the votes from polling station 1, Tha Song Khon Subdistrict, were not included in the candidate's count. After verifying the accuracy, the vote count display board at the election coordination center was corrected for public awareness. The ECT considered this matter and determined that it did not warrant a recount, as there was no credible evidence that the election in the district was not conducted honestly or fairly or that the vote counting was inaccurate, in accordance with Section 124 of the Organic Law on Members of Parliament.

Sub-Lieutenant Phasakon further added that in the fifth case, Pathum Thani Province, Constituency 7, a recount occurred. However, during the first round of counting, the student voters objected, arguing that the counting process was not clearly observable because it was conducted indoors. Upon learning this, the provincial and district ECT ordered a recount, appointing a committee composed of student voters to conduct the recount. He emphasized that these two rounds did not alter the final vote count. However, the authority to order a recount rests with ECT. Therefore, ECT   invoked Section 124 of the Organic Law on Elections to order a recount outside the electoral district of Constituency 7, specifically at the Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, in order to comply with regulations.

"The process of ordering a recount is possible in two cases: 1. Under Section 122 of the Election Act, which states that if the ballot papers and the number of voters do not match, ECT can order a new vote or a recount. However, this section stipulates that if the election was conducted fairly and honestly, a recount would not change the election results, and ECT may order the matter closed. 2. Under Section 124, if the election was not conducted fairly and honestly and the vote counting was incorrect, then ECT can order a recount," said Acting Sub-Lieutenant Phasakon.

Acting Sub-Lieutenant Phasakon added that, regarding the case of Chonburi Province, Constituency 1, Mueang Chonburi District, after the vote count was completed, some members of the public observed the process at the ballot box consolidation site, which was the gymnasium of Constituency 1 in Chonburi Province. He emphasized that this was the process of consolidating ballot boxes after each polling station had finished counting and submitted the results along with the ballot boxes to the location designated by ECT . Once everything was verified, the next step would be..." The process by which the district ECT consolidates ballot boxes involves cutting the ribbons, gathering the documents and bags containing the counted ballots into each box as much as possible to minimize the number of boxes remaining, and sorting the documents before submitting everything to the provincial ECT director.

However, a misunderstanding arose when the candidates gathered at the ballot box consolidation site and requested a recount. As mentioned, a recount is only possible in two cases. Therefore, to ensure a fair and correct process for all parties, ECT assigned Mr. Krachit, Deputy Secretary-General of ECT, to investigate the process, including the objection procedures. The law clearly states that if there are any errors or deficiencies in the vote counting process, observers can object and raise concerns during the counting and aggregation processes until the voting is complete.

Mr. Krachit stated that, following an investigation into the request for a recount in the Chonburi Provincial Constituency 1 parliamentary election, only 10 individuals filed the request, focusing on three specific issues. Six people gave statements, all of whom claimed they did not witness the events firsthand. Regarding the first issue: 1. The power outage at the polling station. The complainants claimed to have a video showing fans still running even after the power went out. However, it was later determined that this incident did not occur in Chonburi province but in Nonthaburi province. We checked with the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) to see if there was a power outage in polling district 1. They confirmed that four units—units 36, 37, 38, and 39 in Saensuk subdistrict—experienced a 40-minute outage. Units 37, 38, and 39 had already completed counting and were unaffected. Only unit 36 had not finished counting, and the polling station temporarily stopped counting until the power was restored for 40 minutes. The counting then resumed smoothly without any objections.

The second issue is that the number of voters who presented themselves did not match the number of ballots they had cast. The complainants did not specify this point. Mr. Krachit further stated that ECT had instructed its investigation into polling units 11 to 15. The committee's process of compiling and adding up the votes took up to three hours. Therefore, an investigation was conducted at all five units, which took approximately the same amount of time and revealed nothing unusual. The committee left the polling units around 8:00 PM and arrived at the ballot box delivery point around midnight, with no irregularities. Regarding the third issue, the complaint stated that the vote counting process was incorrect, but the complainant did not specify the location. Therefore, ECT inspected all 160+ polling units and found no objections to the vote counting. Thus, the vote counting is considered correct.

Mr. Krachit added that ECT also instructed its investigation team to further investigate reports in various media outlets concerning why ballot boxes lacked sealing tape and why sealed vote lists were found in a trash can. The investigation revealed that in Constituency 1, the original plan was to deliver the ballot boxes to the community hall, but due to its limited space, the district director and the district ECTrequested to use the municipal gymnasium/badminton court, which is easily accessible by vehicles, to consolidate the ballot boxes there for convenience. The intention was simply to transport them to the community hall later. The community meeting was held to organize the ballot boxes before sending them to the warehouse rented by the Chonburi ECT office, where all districts will consolidate them. However, during the ballot box consolidation process.

Mr. Krachit further stated that, from the inspection of the red vans transporting the documents to the community hall, 90% of the process has been completed. The remaining 10% of the documents are still piled up at the badminton court, which is 500 meters away. However, while the vehicles were being transported, a group of young people came to inspect whether the officials were carrying out the work correctly. Due to the large number of people, the vehicles could not be moved, and the young people entered the court. There, they found the pile of documents that had not yet been properly organized, approximately 10%. The young people claimed that they had collected them from a trash can, but there were no trash cans in the gymnasium, only the stacks of documents being prepared for clearing. He emphasized that these were not discarded documents. Regarding the question of why straps were not used, as previously stated, the distance from the gymnasium to the community hall is approximately 500 meters.

The reason for not using straps and not having the boxes properly organized was because of the director... The district ECT requested to use this municipal area until 9 Feb. The municipality then pressured us to clear everything by 9 Feb, because the event will be held on 10 Feb. Therefore, we had to quickly remove everything from here, intending to use it at the community hall. Regarding the ribbons shown in the media clips, which the students mentioned as being numerous and unused, these ribbons actually came from the polling stations. During the election process, the district ECT distributes ribbons from various polling stations and keeps one extra ribbon in case of damage. After the documents are packed in the ballot boxes and the ribbons are secured, those consolidating the ballot boxes must cut off the remaining ribbons and put them together in a bag here. The students asked why they weren't used, but in reality, some were already used. The remaining 3-4 intact ribbons are those left over from the polling stations, not intentionally intended for use in consolidating ballot boxes at the community hall. Therefore, there are no ribbons available at the gymnasium.

"Based on the investigation of all the facts, it can be concluded that There is no credible evidence that the election of the Member of Parliament for Chonburi Constituency 1 was not conducted honestly and fairly, or that the vote counting was incorrect. Therefore, there is no reason to order a recount under Section 124 of the Election Act, in conjunction with Clause 223 of ECT regulations on the election of Members of Parliament. It is deemed appropriate to close the matter," said Mr. Krachit.

Regarding the issue of why the 5/11 tally sheet was shown in photos, he explained that at the polling station, after processing, the ballots are placed in three bags: valid ballots, invalid ballots, and ballots marked 'no vote.' The inner bag contains various documents, including this 5/11 tally sheet, before being stored in the ballot box. However, an investigation revealed that the polling station where it was shown did not place it in the outer bag; the bags were simply sealed and placed on top before the ballot box was closed. When the ballot box was opened, this tally sheet was not in the bag and could not be retrieved.

Mr. Narong stated that upon the incident, ECT immediately convened a meeting and did not remain inactive, but that sufficient information was required for some matters. In making a diagnosis, an investigation was appointed to gather facts, which took two days. The investigation included reports from both sides: the complainants and those involved in the election, as well as eyewitnesses, to weigh the evidence, much like drafting a judgment and examining the connections between witnesses. The complaint initially raised three issues, but the Election Commission has assigned further investigation to determine whether the vote counting process in this election was fair and honest.

“Today, all members of ECT spent almost five hours reviewing various issues. We can confirm that ECT will not risk our honor and reputation on such a matter, and we don't need to. Therefore, we can confirm that in addition to investigating the complaint, we are also investigating the legitimacy of the vote counting and aggregation process. I can only confirm this point; other matters will be addressed later. We confirm that we are investigating every aspect meticulously because it is a crucial matter. Regarding the counter-complaint filed in Chonburi alleging that the ECT made false statements, everyone is subject to the law, and we believe we are proceeding according to procedure,” Mr. Narong stated.

When asked about allegations that scanned barcodes on ballots revealed voter information, Mr. Phasakorn stated that this was likely a misunderstanding. The barcodes on ballots These are security measures that we want everyone to understand. The barcode indicates which batch and polling station each ballot belongs to, as a control measure by ECT. This is a high-level security measure to trace the origin, not to identify which political party it belongs to I can confirm that.

Regarding concerns about a potential uprising after the police report was filed against the children, Sub-Lieutenant Phasakon stated that the police report concerns the victims. ECT officials in the respective districts are considered victims. When there is intrusion into their premises or obstruction of their duties, they must investigate and file a report. This also includes cases where their official documents, for which they are responsible, were misappropriated. Therefore, it is necessary to file a report to protect themselves and to clarify the whereabouts of the documents under their responsibility.

When asked about the security measures for the incident this morning where people threw fermented fish sauce at ECT office, Mr. Narong said that they are responsible for managing the election and believe they have done their best regarding security, as the media has seen. There was insult and malicious intent towards ECT even if it was said that they had to change their sleeping arrangements, it's alright. We will stand firm and perform our duties according to the law. We are all afraid, but we must continue to perform our duties.

Regarding the perceived delays in resolving issues at ECT , Mr. Narong clarified that the delays are not arbitrary. In Chonburi, they said we had to restart the count immediately. If the law says it's allowed, then we've done it. There are legal processes and procedures; you don't have to believe us, but in Chonburi, we conducted the investigation in two days. And according to the law, the certification of MPs takes 60 days. We weren't delayed; we work every day, all the time.

Mr. Narong further stated that after the election, ECT has continuously monitored the situation and tried to investigate every complaint, even if some did not meet the legal requirements. For example, the three complaints in Chonburi did not meet the legal conditions at all. However, we are still trying to look into it, focusing on the vote counting process to ensure its integrity and credibility. He affirmed the commission's readiness to disclose all information, never concealing anything, and to clarify any issues.

When asked again how the ECT assessed the management of this election, Mr. Narong said, I cannot assess it myself; it's something they must evaluate. But I would like them to consider whether there was any unrest on 8 Feb, regarding vote counting and election facilitation. Were there any problems on election day? As for what happened afterward, they can figure that out themselves.