The Ubon Ratchathani Election Commission has responded to concerns about ballot discrepancies in District 6, explaining that ballots from outside the district and overseas have not yet been included, and affirming that this is not a revision of candidates' scores.
On 10 Feb 2026 GMT+7, reporters noted that residents in three districts—Khemarat, Na Tan, and Pho Sai—within Ubon Ratchathani’s District 6 gathered holding vinyl protest signs demanding transparency from the District 6 Election Commission outside the Khemarat District Office. They raised concerns that after 24 hours, the election results for District 6 had not been publicly posted. The number of votes reported for candidates exceeded the number of voters who cast ballots. When questioned, officials said the tally was incomplete, although some ballots had already been sent to the Ubon Ratchathani Provincial Election Commission.
Mr. Kittikorn Cherdchu, candidate number 2 from the Thai Ruam Palang Party, revealed that he and local residents requested transparency because officials refused to post the vote count signs and instead directed them to check online. He said, “We seek transparency. If the results show I lost, I will accept them. But currently, the results have not been posted, yet ballots have been sent to the provincial commission. How were ballots removed and transported to the provincial Election Commission? This raises suspicion and dissatisfaction among residents, especially since the ballot boxes have been closed for over 24 hours without any posted results. Without clear answers, residents plan to go to the Ubon Ratchathani Provincial Election Commission.”
An Election Commission official from District 6 explained that vote counting covers three districts: Khemarat, Na Tan, and Pho Sai. Counting in Khemarat was completed by 3:00 a.m. on 9 Feb 2026 GMT+7. For Na Tan and Pho Sai, results had already been entered into the central Election Commission system. Ballots arrived at the District 6 Coordination Center in Khemarat around 1:00 a.m. on 9 Feb. The consolidated results for Na Tan and Pho Sai exist only as data in the central system, not as physical documents sent to District 6, which is responsible for forwarding ballots and equipment to the provincial Election Commission.
The District 6 Election Commission must retrieve data from the central Election Commission system, but due to a system crash, they could not access it. Therefore, raw data from Na Tan and Pho Sai districts must be manually compiled to announce results, which requires additional time.
The issue was exacerbated by communication shortcomings with the public, causing misunderstandings. Those wishing to review vote counts can formally request a recount from the provincial Election Commission, as the district commission has no authority to approve such requests. The delay and related problems will be addressed by district Election Commission officials during a public briefing on 10 Feb.
At 11:30 a.m., Mr. Prawit Kontongdee, Director of the Ubon Ratchathani Provincial Election Commission Office, clarified that the mismatch between the number of voters and the total candidate votes on posted results occurred because the District 6 Election Commission had not yet included votes from outside the kingdom and out-of-district ballots. This affected District 6's results, and the provincial director has been contacted to determine the next steps.
Similarly, in District 4 covering Warin Chamrap and parts of Samrong, coordination has already taken place. Across all 11 districts, when posting results, votes from outside the kingdom and out-of-district must be included. This understanding is now uniform, and it is confirmed that this does not involve altering candidates’ scores, which remain unchanged.
The management of the election process so far has had no issues with tallying or announcing scores. Some candidates have misunderstood the situation after results were released. It is reiterated that this is not a case of ballot tampering or discrepancies as some have speculated.