The Fourth Regional Court of Appeals has ordered a new election for the Khon Kaen Provincial Administrative Organization president.Wattana Changlao.This is due to witness testimony presented by the Election Commission indicating corrupt and non-transparent behavior.
At 10:00 AM on 6 Aug 2026 GMT+7, in Election Court Room 1 on the second floor of Khon Kaen Provincial Court, the Fourth Regional Court of Appeals convened to read judgment case number Lot.Ob.Kor.1/2569 between the Election Commission as petitioner and Wattana Changlao as respondent concerning the Local Council or Local Executive Election Act (requesting a new election for the Provincial Administrative Organization president).
At the scheduled time, Wattana Changlao, president of Khon Kaen Provincial Administrative Organization, arrived with his lawyers to report to the court, while the central Election Commission sent representatives from the Khon Kaen Election Office to attend. Only those directly involved were allowed to attend the hearing; the media and unrelated persons were prohibited, amid strict security measures by court police and guards.
The Fourth Regional Court of Appeals read the judgment for over an hour before ordering a new election for the Khon Kaen Provincial Administrative Organization president. It cited witness behavior presented by the Election Commission, involving Mr. Somsak (surname withheld), who gave 100 baht to three witnesses, stating that candidate number 1 was trustworthy and that Somsak, an experienced elected official, would not joke or deceive witnesses. The court rejected claims that the money was for baby fish, diapers, or cattle grass expenses, or payment for driving students. The court found these allegations unsupported and concluded the election was tainted by corruption and lack of transparency, damaging Khon Kaen’s reputation by implying vote buying.Vote buying.Therefore, the court ordered a new election. The judgment will be forwarded to the Election Commission and Khon Kaen Provincial Administrative Organization to conduct the election according to regulations and laws.
After the verdict, Wattana Changlao and his legal team left immediately without commenting to the media. Only the legal teams from the Election Commission remained to receive the judgment documents as required.