BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): The opposition Pheu Thai Party is pressuring the Election Commission (EC) to explain why there are as many as 7.3 million ballot papers more than the number of eligible voters.
Pheu Thai secretary-general Prasert Jantararuangtong (pic) said that the country has 52,287,045 eligible voters but the EC has printed 57 million ballot papers, plus another 2.6 million spare ballots.
In total, there would be 7.3 million ballot papers more than the number of eligible voters, he said.
Prasert, who heads Pheu Thai’s operation centre for the May 14 general election, asked if the EC has any system in place to ensure that all the extra ballot papers would be returned if they are not used.
He was speaking at a press conference on the party’s appointment of a legal working group tasked with preventing electoral fraud.
Prasert urged the EC to perform its duties carefully and conscientiously. He also pointed out some mistakes in the EC’s documents involving Pheu Thai candidates, which he said could confuse eligible voters.
He said Pheu Thai would be writing to the EC to ask about its preparations for advance voting to be held on May 7.
It would seek answers on the exact number of ballot papers, how to deal with the extra ballots, the transport and storage of ballots, and how the EC will store the ballots cast in advance voting.
“I appeal to all parties involved to perform their duties justly and transparently. The Pheu Thai Party is monitoring all the steps throughout the process – from ballot printing to voting. We want a clean and fair election,” Prasert said.
Pheu Thai is aiming to achieve a landslide victory in next month’s election to return to power after an eight-year hiatus.
Meanwhile, deputy Pheu Thai leader Chusak Sirinil, who heads the party’s working group on legal affairs, said at the press conference that the operation centre has three major tasks – preventing electoral fraud like vote buying, ensuring that the EC performs its duties honestly, and making sure that state officials are not biased in the run-up to the election.
Pheu Thai also asked the public to report any suspected acts of electoral fraud through the party’s different channels, including its Facebook and Twitter accounts or call 02-653-4001.
