Bangkok: Associate Professor Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, a former Election Commissioner, has raised alarms over suspicious cash withdrawals amounting to hundreds of millions of baht in an effort to thwart potential vote buying in the upcoming 2026 elections. He has called on the Election Commission to work closely with the Anti-Money Laundering Office to stem the flow of election funds.

According to Thai News Agency, Somchai analyzed the current election scenario during his appearance on the "Share the News" program on MCOT NEWS FM 100.5. He highlighted the Royal Thai Army's decision to cancel the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) field training scheduled for election day on February 8th at Khao Chon Kai. He supported this decision, emphasizing that nearly 100,000 students participate in the training annually. Without rescheduling, their voting rights would be compromised, particularly impacting Gen Z and first-time voters, who are expected to increase by 600,000.

Somchai also expressed concerns about election fraud, particularly the irregular cash withdrawals, which range from 200-250 million baht, predominantly in 100-baht notes. He urged the Election Commission to coordinate with the Anti-Money Laundering Office to probe these transactions and trace the individuals involved. He also suggested deploying police and media to monitor locations potentially used for vote buying to prevent such activities as the campaign draws to a close.

Additionally, Somchai uncovered irregularities in household registration records, specifically the issue of "ghost names." He pointed to cases where names of discharged conscripted soldiers were illicitly added to household registries without homeowners' consent. He advised citizens to verify their records and report discrepancies to the Election Commission within 10 days before the election. If missed, they should document and publicly announce the issue to prevent identity theft at polling stations. On social media campaigning, Somchai stressed the necessity for those incurring expenses to notify the Election Commission and possess the legal status of campaign assistants to ensure compliance with political expression regulations.