Saeng acknowledged mistakes during the early voting day that caused harm to others and the Election Commission. He said he is not angry about the remark "Don't come begging." Although rehearsals were conducted, problems still arose. Regarding taking responsibility, he requested it be based on factual accuracy.
4 Feb 2026 GMT+7 Mr. Saeng Boonmee, Secretary-General of the Election Commission (EC) In an interview on the program "Worker News: Off-Screen Talk," host Sorayut Suthassanachinda asked about various shortcomings during the early voting day (1 Feb). Saeng said, "If people lose confidence in the officials, the competition becomes very difficult. This undermines trust in us. We have to verify whether the claims are true or not. Elections must follow the will of the people, which has often been taken for granted. Today is an opportunity to clarify the truth. We currently have no allies; our allies are the law and the truth. We follow the law and investigate what really happened, rather than reacting to accusations. Finding the truth may take time, but damage has already been done."
When asked whether he could confirm that every citizen's will would not be ignored, Saeng said the 8 Feb election will be easier because there will be fewer polling stations and candidate ballots will not overlap. He is confident there will be no problems. He added that any incidents at polling stations must be fully recorded for later verification, as media reports have caused unease and harmed them.
"Our mistakes cause harm to others and to ourselves," Saeng said. When Sorayut interjected about image damage, Saeng corrected him: "It's not just image; it's confidence. If people lose faith in the officials, they might as well not vote. Generally, people will stop listening, which leads to chaos, as if we can't manage the venue properly."
Saeng added more after clarifying several issues: "Today, I feel reasonably at ease." Sorayut continued, mentioning that the EC has been criticized for delays, such as in the senator vote-rigging case, and noted that Saeng is from Buriram province. Saeng laughed and replied: "Yes, so what about being from Buriram?" He went on to say the senator vote-rigging case is now with the sub-committee, which will soon present to the full EC.
He added, "We are not here to work according to anyone's wishes—neither political parties nor individuals. We are trained to serve the public and remain neutral. Of course, people may have different opinions; that happens with humans. The EC secretary-general wouldn't tell staff to support one political side over another. Staff might not obey me, but I wouldn't last here if I ordered them to do so. At work, we are all equal, though there is hierarchy in operations. But in duty performance, this is how it is." When asked if delays were intentional, Saeng replied, "Workers probably have their reasons. If we do something wrong or inappropriate, people will complain about us. No one protects us."
When asked about the phrase "Don't come begging" and whether he was angry, Saeng said "No, I'm not angry. I'm currently enjoying football." Saeng supports Manchester United, which is currently fourth in the Premier League standings.
When asked if he had any message for the people, the owners of the will, the EC secretary-general said, "In 2-3 days, it will be election day, a chance for citizens to express their will. I want people to come out and vote in large numbers. How you want the country to be depends on your votes."
When asked if he planned to apologize to those who have spoken out, Saeng said he had already apologized at a press conference that day but would apologize again if needed. He said the EC's intention is perfection; they rehearsed repeatedly and emphasized avoiding mistakes because trust is almost lost. Ultimately, mistakes still happened. Asked if responsibility should be taken beyond an apology, he said that responsibility should be based on facts. If mistakes truly occurred and explanations were unclear to the public, he apologized here as well.