Chaturon Chaisang criticizes the Election Commission over the heated issue of barcodes on election ballots, pointing out that it seriously violates the principle of secret voting. He suggests the court should make a definitive ruling to resolve the issue.
On 20 Feb 2026 GMT+7, Chaturon Chaisang, a party-list candidate from the Pheu Thai Party, expressed his views regarding abnormalities in printing "barcodes" on election ballots. This has become a hot topic, raising concerns that the election may violate the constitution, especially concerning the upcoming re-election at the polling station level scheduled for Sunday, 22 Feb 2026 GMT+7.
Chaturon stated that the most important principle of elections is "secret voting," but having barcodes on the ballots risks enabling tracing back to see which voter chose which party or candidate. If this principle is compromised, it will severely impact citizens' freedom in decision-making.
"The urgent issue is to have the court with jurisdiction rule on whether placing barcodes violates the secret ballot principle. If it does, it must not be done again," Chaturon said, adding that if the Election Commission proceeds with the re-election while barcodes remain, it will worsen the atmosphere of power abuse, influence, and vote-buying. People will fear that influential figures can retrospectively verify votes, deterring them from voting according to their true intention.
Chaturon also warned the Election Commission that failure to promptly address transparency on this matter will further erode public trust in the election process and could escalate into a major problem potentially leading to the election being declared void.