Sawaeng Clarifies Bangkok and Pattaya Ballots Have No Barcode, Emphasizes Fraud Prevention System and Retroactive Verification Available
Election officials clarified that Bangkok and Pattaya ballots lack barcodes by design and emphasized robust fraud prevention through monitoring and retroactive ballot-level verification capabilities. The Election Commission is conducting in
On May 8, 2026, at Centara Life Central World Convention Center in Bangkok, Sawaeng Boonmee, Secretary of the Election Commission (EC), held a press conference following a preparatory meeting for elections of Bangkok Metropolitan Council members, Bangkok governor, Pattaya City Council members, and Pattaya mayor. He reported that the EC has been continuously preparing and conducting drills in coordination between the EC offices in Bangkok and Pattaya to ensure polling committees work in alignment and avoid errors, given the expected high public participation in both elections.
Sawaeng noted that Bangkok has over 6,000 polling units requiring substantial personnel, but he expressed confidence in Bangkok officials' readiness to serve as polling committee members. Regarding ballot design, he explained that local election ballots lack barcodes unlike parliamentary ballots because they are different election types. The EC continuously prints local ballots since municipal and subdistrict elections occur regularly to ensure adequate ballot supply.
Concerning campaign monitoring, Sawaeng stated that national and local election laws apply the same standards. The EC is currently tracking candidate movements both on the ground and through social media, with no irregularities detected. Despite competitive races in Pattaya, he believed the easily monitored nature of the area—with oversight from media, public, and relevant agencies—would encourage candidates to follow the law.
The EC Secretary emphasized that the primary goal is ensuring elections are conducted honestly and fairly, regardless of who wins. He noted that the election system is designed to allow public participation in monitoring official conduct, with full retroactive verification capability down to individual ballots.
When asked if polling committee training would be stricter this time, given previous problems stemmed from committee errors, Sawaeng acknowledged that past elections and current ones serve as lessons. Most problems resulted from polling committees' misunderstanding of their duties. Training will begin over a month in advance, with particular emphasis on polling unit heads understanding regulations in detail to make proper judgments and listen to public complaints, as citizens also participate in election verification.
Asked if polling committees need reminders about properly maintaining equipment to prevent political misuse, Sawaeng countered by asking what "misuse" meant. He noted that equipment management is clearly regulated with continuous staff instructions. While unable to guarantee zero errors, all irregularities can be retroactively verified to individual ballot level, and he requested public cooperation to ensure transparent and credible elections.
