The Constitutional Court unanimously ruled to dismiss Metha’s petition regarding barcodes and QR codes on election ballots, stating there was no direct violation of rights and Article 213 is not applicable.
10 Sep 2026 GMT+7 The Constitutional Court unanimously decided not to accept the petition for consideration. In the case where Mr. Metha Maskaw, acting Secretary-General of the Committee for Democracy Promotion (CDP), filed a petition asking the Constitutional Court to consider under Article 213 of the Constitution, alleging that the Election Commission (EC) and its Secretary-General, respondents, by designing and printing the ballots used in the general parliamentary election on 8 Feb 2026 with barcodes and QR codes, intentionally marked the ballots to be identifiable between stub and ballot, enabling traceability.
He requested the Constitutional Court to rule that the respondents’ actions violated the Election Act B.E. 2561 (2018) Section 96, warranting penalties under the Election Commission Act B.E. 2560 (2017) Section 69, and that all ballots with such marks be invalidated, resulting in the election being declared void.
, The Constitutional Court found that the facts and supporting documents did not show that the petitioner suffered direct rights or freedom violations or harm from the respondents’ actions; it was merely the petitioner’s opinion. This does not meet the criteria, procedures, and conditions under the Constitution Court Procedure Act B.E. 2561 (2018) Section 46(1).
Furthermore, violations of the Election Act B.E. 2561 Section 96 and offenses under the Election Commission Act B.E. 2560 Section 69 may be addressed through other legal channels under Article 25(3) of the Constitution, where the Constitution or organic laws specify particular complaint procedures or authorized courts per the Constitution Court Procedure Act B.E. 2561 Section 47(2). Section 46(3) mandates the Constitutional Court to dismiss such petitions. Therefore, the petitioner cannot file this petition under Article 213 of the Constitution.