"Department of Consular Affairs" Announces Progress on Launching Election and Referendum Monitoring System for Overseas Voters

Today (2 Feb), at the Department of Consular Affairs, Chaeng Wattana Road, Thung Song Hong Subdistrict, Lak Si District, Bangkok, the Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced the progress of the election and referendum situation abroad and launched the "Overseas Election and Referendum Monitoring Room." This technology will monitor the election process for Thai citizens overseas, from preparation and coordination with embassies and consulates worldwide to voting arrangements, ballot delivery, and the referendum itself. Security measures and trustworthiness at consulates worldwide, including tracking, monitoring, and reporting technology for the transportation of ballot papers, were discussed at the press conference by Mr. Mangkon Pratumkaew, Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs. He stated that the Overseas Election and Referendum Monitoring Center is a collaboration between the Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Election Commission of Thailand, Ministry of Interior; and Thailand Post Co., Ltd. It coordinates with 95 Thai embassies, consulates general, and trade and economic offices worldwide to track the progress of the delivery of election and referendum ballots from overseas and to communicate information with partner agencies. The center's workflow begins with receiving ballots from the Election Commission, their dispatch overseas, and reporting results once the embassies, consulates general, and trade offices at the destination receive the documents and equipment. This is in addition to reporting through official forms, and the final and crucial step is the receipt of the ballots from overseas. To sort and distribute to the 400 constituencies.

Following this, a presentation was given on the operational procedures of the Overseas Voting Coordination Center using the Overseas Voting Monitoring System (OVMS). Mr. Wararoj Engsomboon, Head of the Center, explained that the Overseas Voting Coordination Center was established in 1998, after the Constitution mandated overseas elections. The Election Commission assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to oversee overseas elections. In every instance, personnel from the Department of Consular Affairs have participated in the mission. Although overseas elections have been held seven times before, this is the first time a referendum is being held concurrently with overseas elections. We place great importance on this, providing training to relevant personnel to ensure that the operations of embassies, consulates general, and trade offices are orderly, correct, and within the legal timeframe.

The OVMS system was first used in the 2023 election. The system begins monitoring the process from the dissolution of parliament, tracking each stage of preparation for overseas voting. This system provides real-time visibility from all embassies and consulates general. And all trade offices worldwide where Thais reside will be informed of the ongoing process simultaneously.

Once the preparation phase is complete, the ballot papers and referendum ballots, along with other documents and equipment, will be sent to their respective destinations. Upon receipt of the ballots and documents, each country will report to the system. Then, the election and referendum processes will begin. Each country will report the number of ballots returned to Thailand, which will be entered into the system. From what is seen, the majority of ballots are marked in green, indicating that they have been successfully returned to Thailand. The smaller number of gray dots represents ballots that have not yet arrived. It is expected that today will be the day with the highest number of ballots arriving in Thailand, from approximately 15 countries.

Furthermore, Mr. Mangkon Pratumkaew, Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs, added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will oversee the counting of ballots after they arrive in Thailand, from the moment they arrive at the airport, through sorting at Thailand Post, before distribution to the 400 polling stations nationwide. This ensures that ballots from overseas are returned to Thailand and delivered to the 400 constituencies in time for the final count. After the polls close on February 8, 2026, at 5:00 PM, it has been stipulated that each embassy/consulate must allocate time, according to local time, to ensure that all overseas ballots arrive back in Thailand by February 5, 2026, and reach each constituency by February 6, 2026.

Furthermore, Mr. Mangkon stated that the referendum ballots will not be sent back to Thailand for counting. Currently, all embassies, consulates general, and trade offices have established committees to count the votes based on the number of eligible voters. Everything will be done according to the legal requirements, with each location conducting the count continuously and completing it within 48 hours after 5:00 PM on February 8, 2026. The reason why overseas voting can be held concurrently with the referendum is due to the Election Commission's regulations, which aim to facilitate overseas voting, considering time zones, sufficient staff, and the fact that voters often travel long distances, saving time and reducing the difficulty of traveling to cast their ballots. However, even though the election and referendum are held simultaneously, the vote counting will be separate to ensure it meets the legal timeframe.

Nevertheless, regarding the problems encountered during the process, such as issues with envelope addressing in some countries leading to delivery errors and the issue of Thai citizens in France reporting that they did not receive their ballots, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been diligently following up. Officials have been sent to Paris to track down the ballots and will return with the ballots to be sent back to Thailand. The Ministry is also disseminating information to those who have experienced delays or have not received their ballots. Please report the issue to the relevant embassy or consulate so that the problem can be resolved for the public.

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