There have been three reports of voters destroying their ballot sheets so far today (Sunday) in Thailand’s general election. They all claimed they had unintentionally violated the election law.
In the southern province of Songkhla, a 76-year-old retired woman tore a green ballot sheet, which is for voting for party list members. She said that she did it due to a misunderstanding and that she has eyesight problems. She was, however, taken to a Songkhla police station and will be brought before a court charged with breaking election laws.
Meanwhile, in Samut Prakan province, a man who reportedly has Alzheimer’s disease also tore a ballot for party list MPs. Election officials did, however, allow him to vote for a constituency MP before taking him to Samrongnua police station, where he will face legal action for allegedly violating election laws.
In the northern province of Lamphun, a 41-year-old man, identified as Koradorn Thamnasart, crumpled a ballot while casting his vote at a polling station in Muang district. He confessed that he damaged the ballot out of anger, because he could not find the number of the party for which he wanted to vote.
The election officials at the polling station handed him over to police, who took him to a police station where he will face legal action for allegedly violating the election laws.
