Bangkok Councilor Clarifies Card-Swiping Mixup as Accidental

On August 1, Pattarasak Maipranetr, a Thai People's Party councilor for Yannawa District, posted on Facebook to explain an irregularity that occurred during voting at a Bangkok City Council meeting on July 31. He stated: "I would like to clarify the voting error that happened in the Bangkok City Council meeting. On July 31, during the council session, an unexpected issue arose when voting took place, and I wish to use this space to explain the details for transparency."

The error occurred when the meeting's chair opened the voting button for a motion to amend council meeting procedures. Maipranetr rushed back into the meeting room to vote on time but, in his haste, became confused and accidentally pressed the wrong voting machine button. He explained that the confusion arose because a colleague's voting machine had been malfunctioning for the previous week, forcing them to sit next to each other instead of the usual spacing. When he hurriedly cast his vote, he mistakenly pressed the button on his colleague's machine, which still had a card inserted and was unattended at the moment.

Upon realizing his error, Maipranetr immediately clarified to the council that he had accidentally pressed the wrong machine because they were seated close together and the card had a problem. He emphasized that he did not intentionally swap cards, as his colleague's card was already in place. The meeting's deputy chair subsequently ordered an inspection and a revote. Maipranetr stressed that the incident was purely accidental, caused by confusion from sitting at close quarters combined with the rush to vote in time, and that he had no intention of voting on behalf of another councilor. He apologized for the misunderstanding and confusion caused and pledged to be more careful with voting procedures in the future.