Early voting in several provinces is lively, with citizens eagerly waiting to exercise their rights as soon as polling stations open. Army and navy personnel are also lining up to cast their votes, as some remain on guard duty along the Thai-Cambodian border.
At 08:00 on 1 Feb 2026 GMT+7, reporters covered early voting at Surin Provincial Administrative Organization Auditorium. Both out-of-district and in-district voters registered, with citizens arriving before polls opened. The atmosphere was lively with civil servants, police, military, and the public flocking to vote. Lt. Col. Niyom Phetkhomol, Director of the Surin Provincial Election Commission Office, along with volunteers including Territorial Defense students and Scouts, assisted with arrangements. There are 86,344 voters registered for out-of-district early voting across eight polling stations in eight districts: Mueang, Khwao Sinarin, Samrong Thap, Sangha, Prasat, Chom Phra, Rattanaburi, and Kab Choeng. Over 2,000 troops from various units also gradually arrived to vote early out of district.
Lt. Col. Niyom said that in the morning, more than 500 citizens gathered in front of the auditorium, including those registered for out-of-district and in-district voting. At the entrance, officials provided information and checked voter order to facilitate smooth and rapid entry into polling stations. Each voter took 5–10 minutes to verify ID cards, receive two ballots, vote, verify ballots, and drop them in the box. Voting proceeded smoothly with no problems so far. He estimated early voters to exceed 90%, with most citizens intentionally voting early to avoid voting on the official election day.
The Surin Provincial Election Commission Director added that per Election Commission regulations, selling, distributing, or serving any alcohol is prohibited within polling areas on both early voting and official election days to ensure orderly elections. The Surin Election Commission requests cooperation from vendors to stop alcohol sales starting at 18:00 on Friday, 31 Jan 2026 GMT+7, until 18:00 on Saturday, 1 Feb 2026 GMT+7. After polls close, the Surin post office will collect ballot boxes and consolidate them at the central postal facility, with police escorting ballots for sorting by constituency. Voters present at 17:00 or in line may still vote, but those arriving after 17:00 cannot.
Narathiwat soldiers line up enthusiastically for early voting as citizens steadily exercise their rights.
Early voting for MPs, both in-district and out-of-district, in Narathiwat's Constituency 1 in Mueang District is bustling with continuous turnout from citizens and officials. Narathiwat School serves as the central polling place, where many early-registered voters check their names and order via posted lists and online systems. Overall, the process is orderly, with Election Commission staff and volunteers providing close guidance inside the booths.
In Narathiwat province, 7,043 voters registered out-of-district, 330 in-district, and 2,363 registered for the referendum vote on Sunday, 8 Feb 2026 GMT+7. Voters continue arriving steadily, especially government officials, military, and police who must serve on the main election day, as well as general citizens working elsewhere, all actively exercising their rights. Nuntapol Phachuen, Director of the Narathiwat Provincial Election Commission, reported that early voting across all five constituencies is proceeding smoothly with no election law violations reported. Voters are reminded to carefully verify ballot and envelope correctness before casting to ensure all votes are correctly counted in their home constituencies.
Marines in Trat province gradually exercise their early voting rights while still on border watch duty.
At the Trat Provincial Administrative Organization Auditorium, the early MP election polling place, people from various sectors including civil servants, private employees, and military personnel have been arriving steadily since before polls opened. The Election Commission divided the venue into eight polling stations, with 3,333 registered for out-of-district early voting and 65 in-district early voters.
Today, a large group of marine troops and navy personnel deployed to guard Trat's border during the 'Trat Suppression Operation' in December 2025 arrived together to vote early out-of-district because their duties prevent returning home to vote on Sunday, 8 Feb 2026 GMT+7. A military representative said that although the border situation remains normal, ongoing surveillance duties require personnel to rotate throughout the day to vote. Those with home constituencies in Trat will have another force portion allocated to vote on the main election day.
Kriangkrai Panyapongsathorn, District Chief of Mueang Trat, who also voted early, said that both out-of-district and in-district registered voters were present and the atmosphere was orderly. Ballots will be sent to voters’ constituencies to be counted with the official election results. Generally, no irregularities were observed except some destruction of campaign posters and removal of posters in prohibited areas; authorities have instructed corrections. He expects a high turnout this year. While vote buying has been mentioned anecdotally, no clear evidence has been found. Election law violations continue to be monitored to ensure a fair and honest election.
Border troops in Ubon Ratchathani enthusiastically line up for early voting.
In Ubon Ratchathani province, reporters noted a lively atmosphere at the central polling station in Dech Udom District Auditorium, Constituency 11. Over 3,000 troops stationed at Thai-Cambodian border bases in Nam Yuen, Na Chaluai, and Buntharik districts registered for early voting. In the morning, transport shuttled personnel continuously from bases to vote.
Panyapokorn Wirakkhamo, Director of the Election Commission for Constituency 11 in Ubon Ratchathani, explained that this central unit at Dech Udom auditorium sees two voter types: 18 registered in-district early voters and 3,092 out-of-district early voters, mostly military personnel stationed at border bases in Nam Yuen, Na Chaluai, and Buntharik. These troops come from home provinces like Kanchanaburi, Buriram, and Bangkok and have pre-registered for early voting.
A soldier from Kanchanaburi said he has served here for three months and has no issues obtaining candidate information since candidates are local and familiar. He focuses on candidates' ability to help people solve problems rather than policies, which he finds more complex and less attended to. Regarding border issues, he believes the area is well monitored and assisted, having had frontline access throughout his service at Nam Yuen district.
