Bangkok: “Kanvee” urges the Election Commission to recount the votes in Sisaket Constituency 3, citing a lack of transparency in the system. He also complains about the disappearance of the party’s list of proportional representation MPs from the Election Commission’s website, criticizing the organization as being supposed to be independent but not working independently.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Kanwee Suebsaeng, leader of the Pholawat Party, arrived at the Election Commission office to submit a request for a transparent vote counting process. He stated that while he thanked the voters for their support, the party felt the vote count was riddled with irregularities, starting from Chonburi and now involving Sisaket province. Therefore, the Pholawat Party requested the Election Commission to recount the votes in Constituency 3 of Sisaket and to thoroughly check all election results to provide answers to the Thai people. He also questioned the transparency of the Election Commission’s role as an independent organization and asked why there had been no clear response to these requests.
Mr. Kanwee stated that between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM on election day, the name of the Phonlawat Party did not appear on the Election Commission’s website in the party-list system. To this day, no information on the party’s party-list candidates has been found on the website. He questioned the system’s error and demanded the immediate release of Form 5/18 for transparency.
In the case of Sisaket Constituency 3, it was reported that there was a discrepancy between the number of voters and the total votes cast, with approximately 5,000 votes missing. Furthermore, the number of votes for the Phalawat Party (number 7), which should have been 7,335, was incorrect, with the leading 7 having been erased. Therefore, a request was made for the Election Commission to provide a detailed explanation and conduct a recount as permitted by law in cases of suspected lack of transparency or fraud.
Mr. Kanwee also mentioned the incident in Chonburi District 1, where citizens complained about a recount after discovering irregularities such as the opening of ballot boxes and the signing of documents before use, suggesting intent to commit fraud. He stated that the Deputy Secretary-General of the Election Commission was in the area but could not provide an answer. He questioned how an independent organization could instill confidence in the public that it was not acting independently and transparently if its actions were not genuine.
Mr. Kanwee commented that if the vote count is flawed and the election is declared void, it could lead to a new election, which would cost around 6-7 billion baht. However, the first step should be a recount and the facts should be disclosed to the public. Any errors must be corrected first. If they cannot be corrected, the election should be declared void, and then a new election should be held. He also called on the Election Commission to take responsibility as an independent organization not under anyone’s control. The Election Commission’s duty is to manage the election, but when the results are unreliable, it must be the one to correct them. If it is found that the Commission has acted dishonestly or has not been able to provide transparent explanations, it should consider resigning.
Furthermore, Mr. Kanwee invited the public to follow and participate in monitoring the election process to ensure it is conducted honestly and transparently.