Election Body Rejects Chonburi Recount Petition

BANGKOK, Feb 13 (TNA) - Thailand's Election Commission (EC) has rejected a petition for a vote recount in Chonburi’s Constituency 1, citing a lack of evidence of irregularities, officials said on Thursday.

EC Chairman Narong Klanwarin and senior officials addressed the media following an investigation into three primary allegations: a power outage during counting, discrepancies between voter turnout and ballots, and incorrect reading of scores.

Investigators found no evidence of wrongdoing in these instances.

Regarding a viral video of a blackout, the EC clarified the footage was from another province. In Chonburi, a brief 40-minute outage occurred at four stations, but counting was suspended until power returned with no objections raised at the time.

The EC also dismissed reports of ballots found in trash bins, explaining that documents were being moved between storage sites due to space constraints when a crowd blocked the transport. Consequently, due to a lack of evidence suggesting an inaccurate tally, the EC has dismissed the petitions.

The dispute involves Suchart Chomklin, the current Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, who won the seat at Chonburi’s Constituency 1. Suchart himself later petitioned for a recount to prove the transparency of his victory, but the EC's latest ruling effectively confirms his win.

Local election directors on Thursday filed police complaints against protest leaders for trespassing and obstructing officials at the ballot storage site. -819 (TNA)