Seoul: The Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) is observing Thai citizens in South Korea exercising their voting rights.
According to Thai News Agency, the Election Commission of Thailand (EC) is observing the Thai elections in South Korea and views the overall process as orderly. They encourage citizens to exercise their right to vote. The Thai Ambassador to Seoul noted minor issues with voters casting their ballots via mail due to unclear addresses and urged those who voted by mail to contact the embassy for resolution.
Today at 12:40 PM local time in Seoul, Republic of Korea, Mr. Chai Nakornchai, a member of the Election Commission, along with his delegation, met with Mr. Thani Saengrat, the Thai Ambassador to Seoul, Republic of Korea. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and follow up on the situation regarding overseas voting in Republic of Korea, where the voting period for parliamentary elections and the referendum is open from January 19th to 28th. The discussion lasted approximately one hour.
Following the discussions, Mr. Chai Nakornchai, an Election Commissioner and election observer in South Korea, revealed that the Thai election in South Korea proceeded smoothly, and the embassy had provided excellent facilities. He added that he will visit another polling station tomorrow, Wat Phuttharangsi, an area with a large Thai population, to investigate any problems encountered during the process. Any issues found will be promptly addressed and resolved upon his return.
Regarding the enthusiasm of Thai people exercising their right to vote in the Republic of South Korea, it has been very high. Since the voting period extends until January 28th, we encourage everyone to come out and vote, as every Thai vote matters. For those who have registered but haven't yet voted, we urge you to remember that your vote is very valuable and to exercise your right to vote to the fullest.
Ambassador Thani Saengrat, the Thai Ambassador to Seoul, also stated that since the opening of voting for the general election and the referendum on January 19th, there have been only minor issues. For example, some voters who voted by mail had unclear address information on the post office in Thailand, or there were problems with the Korean language on the envelopes (approximately 20 cases). The embassy has listed the names of those with unclear addresses on the envelopes on its website and urges them to contact the embassy promptly so that the issues can be resolved. In addition, a hotline number has been set up by the embassy as another channel for communication.
Later, the Election Commission facilitated the voting for visually impaired individuals at the embassy. However, it is important to carefully check whether they have registered to vote at the embassy or Wat Phuttharangsi to ensure they travel to the correct location. For those who registered by mail, please send your documents to the embassy as soon as possible, as the embassy will begin counting the referendum votes of Thai citizens in the Republic of Korea on February 9th at 10:00 AM. This counting will only focus on the referendum, so there may be some questions regarding the vote counting process.
Therefore, we would like to confirm that for both constituency and party-list parliamentary elections, the embassy will collect and send the ballots to the respective districts where the citizens reside in Thailand. It is then the responsibility of the Election Commission to compile and count the votes, whether at the district office or the sub-district office.
Furthermore, the embassy will be live-streaming the safe return of ballot papers for Thai citizens in the Republic of Korea to Thailand. Please be assured that the Election Commission and the embassy will handle this matter smoothly.
As for the national ballots, the counting process will take place at the embassy on February 9th, starting at 10:00 AM. There will also be a live broadcast to show that the referendum votes cast by the public will be secure.