Over 90% Voter Turnout Reported for Advance Voting

BANGKOK, May 8 (TNA) –  The Election Commission reported 91.83 per cent of voter turnout for early voting on May 7.

EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee led media members to observe sorting and counting of early ballots at the Thailand Post head office.

If constituency code numbers on the envelops of the ballot sheets are incorrected, the cast ballots will be verified by three last digits of the electoral constituency codes at the bottom of the envelops, he said.

If the details are missed out, the ballots will be handed over the EC and Thailand Post officials to make the decision which constituencies the ballots will be sent to, based on verification of ballot paper stubs, he added while conceding the procedure may be quite difficult.  

Asked about the mistakes of EC officials at polling stations in advancing voting and public dissatisfaction, he said it was the people’s feeling towards the EC. Local senior EC officials were ordered to report those errors. He confirmed that the problems would neither disrupt the upcoming election nor make the election results null and void.  

Danan Suphatthaphan, president of Thailand Post said more than 60,000 ballots from overseas voters in 45 countries or about 65 per cent of all ballots cast by voters in 67 countries had arrived in the kingdom.

Sorting of advance ballots will be finished by May 10 and will be delivered to 400 constituencies nationwide by the election date on May 12.

The sorting process has been monitored by officials in a war room around the clock. (TNA)