Isara Seriwatthanawut pointed out that millions of referendum votes might be lost, enough to reverse the referendum's outcome. He views the Election Commission's publicity efforts as insufficient compared to its budget allocation for the agency.
On 3 Feb 2026 GMT+7, Isara Seriwatthanawut, Secretary of the King Prajadhipok Institute, posted on Facebook on 2 Feb: “Did you know?” Millions of referendum votes might be lost, potentially flipping the referendum result. On 1 Feb, he voted early outside his district and noticed an important point the public should know: The 2026 election included a simultaneous referendum, but the law prohibits early voting in the referendum since it is governed by a different act. Many mistakenly believed that voting on 1 Feb would provide ballots for all three matters, but actually, the referendum ballot must be cast on the official referendum day, 8 Feb only.
Another key issue is that the advance voter registration system and the referendum voting registration are separate systems requiring separate registration. This led to over 2.4 million registering for advance voting, but only about 1.5 million registering for the referendum vote. The difference of over 900,000 people is likely to result in many not voting in the referendum due to various reasons: unawareness, being busy on 8 Feb, or reluctance to vote twice. Even among the 1.5 million registered for out-of-district referendum voting, after facing traffic jams, parking difficulties, and long queues on 1 Feb, the chance they will endure another massive crowd on 8 Feb just to vote in the referendum is very low. Practically, this requires strong democratic commitment, which is unlikely.
Meanwhile, many still mistakenly think that not voting in the referendum has no legal consequences, whereas the Referendum Act Section 24 states that those who do not vote and fail to notify a reason will have their political rights restricted, similar to not voting in an election. On this point, I must criticize that the Election Commission's public relations remain very limited compared to its budget.
Considering this alongside the latest KPI Poll showing about 53% approval for the referendum, the potential loss of many votes raises unavoidable questions about how accurately this referendum reflects the genuine will of the people.
Therefore, I urge those who voted early on 1 Feb and have no pressing matters on 8 Feb to please vote again in the referendum. If unable to attend, do not forget to notify the reason within the deadline from today until 15 Feb. Our rights should not be lost due to “lack of information.”