The Election Commission (EC) held a meeting to prepare for the Bangkok Governor and Pattaya Mayor elections, acknowledging previous errors by election staff as lessons learned. This time, training was conducted more than a month in advance with the goal of avoiding mistakes, and the EC appealed to the public to help monitor the process.
On 8 May 2026 at 09:00, at Centara Life Hotel, Government Complex, the Election Commission Office convened a meeting to prepare for the elections of Bangkok Metropolitan Council members, Bangkok Governor, Pattaya City Council members, and Pattaya Mayor, as their terms are ending. The meeting outlined procedures for verifying candidates’ qualifications and disqualifications, election management guidelines, campaigning methods and prohibitions, polling station administration, and capacity building for election staff. It also covered election expense limits and submission of financial reports, aiming to ensure personnel can perform their duties confidently and effectively with aligned understanding.
Mr. Sawek Boonmee, Secretary-General of the EC, said preparations and rehearsals have been ongoing continuously since the election schedule was known in advance. The Bangkok and Pattaya EC offices have coordinated closely to ensure election staff work consistently. The goal is to avoid errors, as these two elections are expected to attract significant public interest.
Mr. Sawek added that Bangkok has more than 6,000 polling stations, requiring many personnel, but he is confident the staff are ready to serve as election officials, so no major issues are expected. He emphasized that local election ballots have anti-counterfeiting measures and verification systems, although they lack barcodes like national parliamentary elections due to the different election type. The EC continuously prints local election ballots to meet demands from ongoing municipal and subdistrict elections. Regarding campaign monitoring, the EC is tracking candidates’ activities both on the ground and on social media. So far, no irregularities or concerns have been detected. Although competition in Pattaya is intense, the area’s transparency, supported by media, citizens, and related agencies, encourages candidates to avoid illegal conduct.
The EC Secretary-General confirmed that the commission’s primary goal is to conduct honest and fair elections, regardless of the winners. Any improper conduct can be reviewed afterwards. Most issues stem from misunderstandings by election officials, so this time officials were trained more than a month in advance, especially polling station chairpersons, who must thoroughly understand regulations, discern right from wrong, and heed public objections. Citizens also play a role in monitoring the election process.
"Although absolute error-free elections cannot be guaranteed, any irregularities can be traced back to individual ballots. We ask for the public’s cooperation in monitoring to ensure the election is transparent and credible," Mr. Sawek said.