The Ombudsman has resolved to petition the Constitutional Court to rule on whether the use of Barcode and QR Code on parliamentary election ballots violates the constitution, after finding sufficient grounds that this compromises the secrecy of the vote.
On 13 March 2026, the Ombudsman’s office released a statement explaining that after receiving complaints from citizens about the parliamentary election held on 8 February 2026, it was requested to submit a petition with an opinion to the Constitutional Court under Section 213 of the 2017 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand. The complaints concerned the use of barcodes and QR codes on ballots, which could identify and verify voter identity and voting results, thereby undermining the secrecy of the ballot. This was viewed as a violation of the rights and freedoms of the complainants and contrary to the 2017 Constitution, based on 21 complaints received.
On 10 March 2026, the Ombudsman convened a meeting to review facts and applicable laws. It concluded that the issue was substantial and justified adjudication. The Election Commission, its Secretary-General, and the Election Commission Office had organized the general parliamentary election on 8 February 2026 by designing and printing ballots with barcodes and QR codes. It is credible that these codes can be linked or traced back to individual voters, compromising ballot secrecy, which contravenes the constitutional intent in Sections 83 and 85. This constitutes a violation of the rights and freedoms of complainants and voters as guaranteed by the constitution. Therefore, on 13 March 2026, the Ombudsman approved submitting the petition and opinion to the Constitutional Court under Section 213 of the 2017 Constitution for further adjudication according to its authority.
Additionally, there are related complaints concerning the parliamentary election on 8 February 2026, including issues with the Election Commission's regulation on parliamentary elections of 2023, Clause 129, Paragraph 2, which allows the commission to add special codes, marks, or other text on ballots. This raises constitutional concerns under Section 85 of the 2017 Constitution and the Election Act of 2018, as amended, Sections 84 and 96. Also noted is the discrepancy in the number of constituency and party list ballots, and the use of barcodes and QR codes on ballots, which may violate the Personal Data Protection Act of 2019. These issues remain under review by the Ombudsman within its duties and authority.
