People have continuously taken turns guarding the ballot boxes for the Chonburi Constituency 1 election throughout the night until morning. Worath, a candidate from the People's Party, stated he is willing to accept defeat but insists on transparency and agrees that votes should be recounted.
Following the event where locals and youth students found irregularities in the storage of the ballot boxes for the Member of Parliament election in Chonburi Constituency 1, there have been calls for a vote recount. Subsequently, people began taking turns guarding the ballot boxes from early evening until this morning.
This morning at 10:00 a.m., reporters observed that more than 100 locals and students continued to monitor both inside and outside the Election Commission's ballot storage location. Later, Mr. Narit Niramaiwong, Governor of Chonburi, arrived to inspect the situation. The EC's Deputy Secretary was sent to take a shower, while the district chief of Mueang Chonburi also monitored the situation.
When asked, Mr. Thitiwat, 19, and Mr. Yanathorn, 19, jointly expressed strong doubts about the vote counting process, as they had voted in this constituency. They noted that the power went out during counting and said they want a recount. They stayed overnight guarding the ballots and will not leave unless a recount is conducted.
It was reported that the EC's seven-member committee is currently meeting to find a resolution.
Mr. Worath Sirirak, People's Party candidate for Chonburi Constituency 1, who came to observe the process, said the incident was stirred up by a certain social media page. The municipality was unaware of this before the matter escalated to the EC and district office. Now, what is needed is for the EC to answer how they will handle this, as crowds have been waiting since last night. Complaints and petitions have been submitted. He believes the crowd’s purpose is clear: to demand a recount.
Mr. Worath added that everyone agrees a recount should occur. Regarding claims that those calling for the recount are sore losers, he affirmed that he is willing to accept defeat but insists on transparency.
In response to remarks by Mr. Suchart suggesting political parties might be behind the calls for a recount, Mr. Worath firmly denied that he or his party are involved. He said yesterday’s unrest was fueled by a local page. Abnormalities encountered since last night include a power outage at polling stations while fans continued running, raising questions. Additionally, ballot boxes were not secured with cable ties, which questions the proper procedures for ballot security.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Secretary of the People's Party Eastern Region stated they have been monitoring the situation continuously and observing since last night. They see that citizens have come out to protect their rights and votes. They have found ballot boxes unsecured by cable ties and irregularities in ballots. The public agrees on these issues, and the party’s legal team has concluded a recount should take place, preferably today. They plan to submit letters to both the Chonburi EC and the central EC. It is unfortunate that even the EC Secretary lacks the authority to decide whether these issues violate laws or EC regulations.
Further developments will be reported as they arise.
