QR concerns hit EC Bangkok revote

The Election Commission (EC) held a revote on Sunday in three polling units and a recount in one unit, with heightened public scrutiny focused on whether ballot papers containing QR codes and barcodes were still being used.

The atmosphere at the polling units in Constituency 15, located at the Amornphan Satellite Condominium Town (R4) in Kannayao district of Bangkok, was lively from early morning. Thai and foreign media, senators and IT experts gathered to observe the voting process and inspect the ballot format.

Sub Lt Samphan Saengkamlerd, director of the Bangkok Election Office, said overall operations proceeded smoothly. The three polling units had a combined 716 eligible voters, with turnout expected at around 70%, or about 500 voters.

The polling units were relocated indoors after a tent collapsed during a rainstorm on Feb 8, damaging ballots and forcing a new vote.

Sub Lt Samphan declined to confirm whether the new ballots still contained QR codes and barcodes, saying he had not yet inspected them personally.

He also did not clarify whether officials would conceal the codes during counting.

He said the EC is committed to maintaining secrecy, asserting there is no evidence ballots could be traced back to voters.

Senator Noraset Pratchayakorn attended as an observer, citing concerns since Feb 8 about QR codes potentially compromising ballot secrecy, adding it was crucial to ensure untraceability.

Thanarat Kuawattanaphan, CEO of DomeCloud and a blockchain specialist who first raised concerns over QR-coded ballots, also observed the vote.

He criticised the EC for not clearly addressing public questions and questioned the ban on photographing blank ballots for independent verification.

As for the vote recount, results at Polling Unit 10 in Constituency 15 showed the People’s Party (PP) candidate receiving 224 constituency votes, followed by the Pheu Thai Party with 103 and the Bhumjaithai Party with 81. Party-list results placed the PP first with 233 votes.

The recount concluded in about one hour and 40 minutes, with officials sealing ballots and posting results before transferring materials onwards.