Protesters in Chon Buri’s Constituency 1 have called for a recount of ballots, alleging irregularities in the handling of ballot boxes following Sunday’s election.
According to the Election Commission’s (EC) official vote count dashboard, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Suchart Chomklin of the Bhumjaithai Party won the constituency with 43,703 votes. He was followed by Warot Sirirak of the People’s Party, who secured 39,920 votes, leaving a margin of 3,783 votes.
The EC reported that a total of 98,894 voters cast ballots in the constituency. Of these, 92,439 ballots were deemed valid, 2,127 were invalid, and 4,328 voters selected the no-vote option.
Demonstrators gathered on Monday at the badminton court of the Muang Chon Buri municipal office, near the Muang Chon Buri district office, where ballot boxes were being stored.
The protest continued overnight, with participants claiming the boxes had not been properly sealed. They alleged that plastic rope was used instead of standard cable ties, raising concerns over ballot security.
The demonstrators blocked officials from transporting the ballot boxes to a local branch of the Chon Buri election office and demanded an immediate recount. In response, the Muang Chon Buri district chief ordered that the ballot boxes be secured.
EC deputy secretary-general Chanin Noilek arrived at the site at 1:35am on Tuesday.
He told protesters that only the Election Commission has the legal authority to order a recount. The EC was scheduled to convene at 10am on Tuesday to consider the matter.
In the same constituency, voting for party-list members showed a different pattern, with the People’s Party receiving the highest number of ballots at 41,689, followed by Bhumjaithai with 26,989 votes.
