Patrasak, a People's Party councilor, affirmed there was no proxy voting. He explained he accidentally pressed the wrong voting machine and sincerely declared it was an accident, with no intention to vote on behalf of another member, as councilor Siram was just outside the room and walking in.
On 1 Aug 2026 GMT+7, Patrasak Maiphranet, councilor for Yannawa district from the People's Party, posted a Facebook explanation regarding the case.
The People's Party councilors were accused of proxy voting during a Bangkok council meeting. He respectfully explained the voting mistake that occurred during the 31 Jul 2026 GMT+7 meeting. A questionable issue arose during the vote, prompting him to clarify details for transparency. The mistake occurred when the meeting chairman (the second deputy chairman) opened voting on an agenda to amend council meeting rules. He hurried back into the room to vote on time but, in haste, got confused and accidentally pressed the wrong machine. The confusion stemmed from the fact that since last week, Siram Prakaikij's voting machine was malfunctioning and unusable, so this week Siram sat next to him instead of leaving a seat between them, and his card was left inserted. In his rush, Patrasak pressed Siram's machine while Siram was outside talking on the phone and was returning to the meeting. Upon realizing the error, Patrasak immediately informed the council, "I accidentally pressed your machine, Siram, because the machines are adjacent and the card had issues. I apologize."
"I confirm there was no proxy voting because Siram's card was already inserted. I simply pressed the wrong machine accidentally and had no reason to vote on behalf of anyone, especially since Siram was just outside the room and walking back in."
He used this opportunity to affirm his full innocence, stating the incident was an accident caused by confusion from having to sit so close together and his real haste. He had no intention to vote for another council member. He immediately clarified the truth at the time and apologized for any misunderstanding or disruption. He pledged to be more careful and deliberate in future voting to avoid similar issues.