Bangkok:Thailand's Constitutional Court has ruled that incorporating barcodes and QR codes on ballots for the February 8 general election is constitutional, affirming that it does not infringe upon voters' rights.

According to Thai News Agency, the court's decision came after a petition was submitted by the Ombudsman following concerns that code tracking on ballots, which were printed by the Election Commission, could compromise the secrecy of votes as guaranteed by the constitution.

The court unanimously determined that the QR codes used on both constituency and party-list ballots are constitutional. Additionally, in a separate 8-1 decision, the court upheld the legality of barcodes on party-list ballots.

The dissenting judge expressed concern that barcodes might be traceable to individual voters, potentially violating constitutional protections for voting privacy. The court advised election officials to enhance ballot design and security measures in future elections to prevent fraud while avoiding symbols that could be linked back to voter identities.