The People’s Party is moving to initiate legal proceedings against the Election Commission (EC), alleging that the use of barcodes on ballot papers threatens the secrecy of the vote and opens the door to voter intimidation and long-term data security risks.
Speaking at a press briefing in Bangkok on Saturday, party spokesman Parit Watcharasindhu said the party will submit a petition to the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases, following what he described as unsatisfactory explanations from the EC.
Mr Parit said the commission’s briefing on Friday, intended to ease public anxiety over ballot barcodes, instead highlighted structural weaknesses that could allow ballots to be traced back to individual voters.
“According to the EC, in theory, voters can be identified by using three components: the codes, the counterfoils and the voters’ list,” he said.
First, Mr Parit said the system violated the fundamental principle of ballot secrecy, arguing that voting papers should never allow voter identities to be traced under any circumstances.
Second, he said there was a significant loophole that could be exploited by political parties or candidates to track votes.
While the EC has insisted that counterfoils are securely stored, Mr Parit said prior knowledge of the coding system could allow candidates or their supporters to pressure voters into disclosing key components before casting their ballots.
He added that improperly acting polling officials could also secretly photograph counterfoils and transmit them to those seeking to match votes, without requiring access to the EC’s official records.
During the EC briefing on Friday, officials told reporters that linking barcodes on ballots with counterfoils to determine individual voting choices would be “highly impracticable”.
When pressed on whether this meant such identification was impossible, an EC spokesman said it would require extraordinary effort and the commission of multiple illegal acts.
Mr Parit said this response failed to address broader risks, particularly the long-term security of election data. He warned that leaked or improperly accessed voting information — including data allowing voters to be profiled by age, gender or region — could be exploited to influence future elections.
The party has appointed deputy leader Wayo Asawarungruang to collect evidence and pursue legal action against the EC and its secretary-general under Section 157 of the Criminal Code, which covers abuse or neglect of official duties.
Transparency, Not Rejection
Rejecting claims that the party’s actions were aimed at overturning the election outcome, Mr Parit said the People’s Party was focused solely on safeguarding electoral integrity.
He said the party’s review of the process was intended to ensure that all votes were properly counted, regardless of which party benefited, and that officials responsible for negligence or wrongdoing must face legal consequences to restore public confidence in future polls.
Mr Parit also cited irregularities in the two-ballot system, pointing to inconsistencies between constituency and party-list vote counts in areas including Songkhla constituency 3 and Si Sa Ket constituency 2. He said the discrepancies were identified using tally boards displayed at polling stations, rather than figures published on the EC’s website, which the commission has attributed to technical reporting errors.
The party has called on the EC to clarify the discrepancies and to release full polling-unit documentation, including tally reports (Form 5/18) and vote-marking sheets (Form 5/11).
“Other constituencies in question included places where the People’s Party won elections, which demonstrates that the party’s scrutiny is not intended to increase its number of MPs but only to protect the votes of citizens,” Mr Parit said.
Complaints Escalate Nationwide
Deputy party leader Kittichai Techakulvanich said candidates from the People’s Party have recorded 57 complaints so far, with 37 formally lodged with the EC.
In addition, more than 4,000 complaints have been submitted by members of the public through the party’s report69 platform. Of these, 1,260 cases were found to contain sufficient evidence and have been forwarded by the party’s legal team to candidates for formal challenges to the results.
Party officials also highlighted a new case from Samut Prakan constituency 6, where video footage submitted by a citizen allegedly shows election materials dated February 8 dumped at a landfill.
Mr Kittichai said the incident has intensified calls for the EC to investigate how official election documents were disposed of in such a manner.
The barcode dispute adds to a growing list of complaints related to the Feb 8 election. Across the country, voters and political parties have reported problems ranging from ballot mishandling and discrepancies in vote counts to delays in online reporting and alleged misconduct by polling staff.
Six days after voting day, the unofficial tally remains at 94% of ballots counted. The EC has yet to provide a timeline for further updates, stating only that it is legally entitled to announce official results within 60 days.
