A group of students stormed the Election Commission (EC) press conference, holding signs demanding a "recount" before being removed from the area. Their leader exposed serious allegations that two major parties distributed money.
On 10 Feb 2026 GMT+7, at the Election Commission (EC) office, reporters noted that near the end of a nationwide election issue briefing—particularly addressing unrest in Chonburi province—a group of university students attempted to symbolically protest in the middle of the press conference by holding up A4 paper signs with messages such as "Recount," "How were the polling officers trained?", "Is this how taxpayer money spent on overseas study tours is used?", and "Recount the entire country."
However, before the students could officially raise their protest signs, police and security personnel intervened to control the situation and escorted all of them out of the press room to maintain order, forcing the protesters to regroup outside the building to continue displaying their signs.
Mr. Pun (a pseudonym), 22, a student representative, said he and peers from several universities came intending to observe the EC's briefing to express public dissatisfaction. He stated that the EC's presented data conflicted with the feelings of voters who intended to exercise their rights and questioned the reported low voter turnout numbers, noting that in reality many citizens appeared motivated to vote.
When asked about confidence in the investigation of issues in Chonburi province, which the EC said would take two days, Mr. Pun said, "Listening to it doesn't help. The EC claims everything was done properly, but what people see is a different story. I want the EC to review information shared on social media or the X platform." He emphasized that even if official results are announced, he cannot trust them because recurring problems like vote-buying remain unresolved. He added that the current lack of transparency is worse, considering taxpayer funds were spent on overseas study tours, yet the election was managed so poorly.
Mr. Pun also revealed notable information about vote-buying, stating, "My family received money from two political parties. However, I cannot present evidence because there are many influential figures in the area, which would threaten the safety of ordinary people like us. Therefore, I urge the EC to investigate the widely shared evidence circulating on the internet first."
At the end, Mr. Pun said that if the investigation results into election irregularities are unsatisfactory or lack clear transparency, the student group may organize protests within their legal rights to escalate their demands. Whether they will join demonstrators in Chonburi remains under consideration.