The Chanthaburi Provincial Election Commissioner led civil society networks to inspect the ballot storage area located behind the building, revealing that District 1 in Chanthaburi has 4,894 more votes than the number of people who voted.
Following the case where civil society networks in Chanthaburi submitted a letter requesting the Election Commission to halt the announcement of results for Districts 1 and 2 after noticing suspicious fluctuations in the reported vote counts, with totals increasing and decreasing, the Provincial Election Commissioner explained it as a technical error and forwarded the matter to the central authority for resolution, as previously reported.(Chanthaburi in turmoil, pressing the Election Commission to recount votes after suspicious 'ballot discrepancies'; explained as 'technical error')
Later, Mr. Amnat Phusadee, Chanthaburi Provincial Election Commissioner, along with Election Commission staff, gradually led civil society groups to inspect the ballot storage site behind the Chanthaburi Provincial Election Commission office building, fulfilling the groups' request. Police officers from Mueang Chanthaburi Station, both in and out of uniform, were present to facilitate and maintain order.
Inside the building, numerous election materials were organized categorically, including some of the ballot boxes from this parliamentary election, which were stored there. However, some ballot boxes and ballots remained at the election command centers of each district's local administration and had not yet been moved together. The Election Commission explained that delays in transport might occur but assured that storing ballot boxes and ballots followed all proper procedures.
Meanwhile, Mr. Athiwat Amnatsakulkiat, a parliamentary candidate for Chanthaburi District 1 from the Economic Party, who came to observe, expressed concern over the situation. He stated that the election held on 8 February, followed by a subsequent reduction in vote counts, caused a sense of unfairness. He emphasized his desire to see transparency in the democratic process, agreeing with civil society’s call for a recount to verify the truth. Similarly, other candidates and party representatives who joined the observation urged the Provincial Election Commission to acknowledge the issue, demonstrate transparency, and address all public concerns.
After inspecting the ballot boxes, hundreds of civil society members still demand the Provincial Election Commission to conduct a full recount. They pointed out that in District 1, an unofficial tally showed a total of 100,860 votes for all candidates combined, while the total number of valid ballots was only 95,966—resulting in 4,894 excess votes. This abnormal discrepancy clearly indicates errors in vote counting or aggregation. According to the 2018 Parliamentary Election Act, Section 124 states: “When the commission receives vote count reports and credible evidence shows that the election in a district was not conducted honestly or fairly, or that the vote counting was incorrect, the commission shall suspend the announcement of results and organize a new election or a recount in one or all polling stations within the district.”
Currently, as ballots have not been moved from the Provincial Election Commission area, it remains within the commission’s discretion to order a recount in all polling stations in District 1.
The letter submitted by the civil society network will serve as evidence supporting their petition for the central Election Commission to exercise its discretion in considering a vote recount.
Reports indicate the unofficial election results for Chanthaburi’s District 1 are as follows:
First place: Police Lieutenant General Surapol Wiratyosin, candidate number 1, Bhumjaithai Party, with 33,023 votes.
Second place: Mr. Warayut Thongsuk, candidate number 4, Prachachon Party, with 29,386 votes.