Niphit Insansombat highlighted that election ballots with barcodes are "not secret" and violate the constitution. He cited explanatory notes from the Secretariat of the House of Representatives and reaffirmed this with a 2006 Constitutional Court ruling. He advised parliamentary candidates to raise funds in preparation for a new election.
On 20 Feb 2026 GMT+7, Mr. Niphit Insansombat, former Minister of Culture and legal advisor to the Democrat Party, posted on his personal Facebook page with the headline "Secret or Not Secret" He conveyed that if we set aside "bias," the Election Commission's ballots containing barcodes, which can be traced back to voters, are not secret under Section 85 of the constitution. Today, society debates whether the ballots are "secret" or "not secret."
The term "secret" under Section 85 of the constitution is explained by the Secretariat of the House of Representatives as follows: "It must be conducted in a manner that no one else can know or verify how a voter cast their vote or which candidate they voted for." If verification is possible, it is clear that this election is not secret.
Since it is not secret, there was a Constitutional Court ruling No. 9/2549 (2006) ordering a new election. Some have suggested that if it is not secret, the court should order destruction of all ballots to avoid re-election. Whether this is possible will be discussed later. But if I were a candidate who received the highest votes in this election, I would start raising about 100 million baht to prepare for a new election.