Thai parliament to open amid scrutiny over election ballots

BANGKOK: Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn formally opened the new parliament on Saturday (Mar 14), as last month’s general election result faces court scrutiny over barcodes on the ballots that may have violated the law.

The barcodes might undermine the secrecy of the ballot, said the country’s Office of the Ombudsman, which petitioned the Constitutional Court to consider the case.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party won a clear victory in the Feb 8 election, but the ombudsman said late on Friday that there had been 21 complaints from the public that barcodes and QR codes on the ballots could potentially be used to identify which party or candidate a given voter had chosen.

The court annulled a 2006 election on the grounds that the voting process had not been conducted in secret.

The Election Commission has said the barcodes were included for security purposes and that identifying a voter would require access to the upper half of the ballots, which were securely stored.

Bhumjaithai, which won at least 191 seats in the 500-member parliament, has said it will form a ruling coalition with the third-place Pheu Thai Party and several smaller groups, giving the alliance more than 290 seats and raising the prospect of a stable government after years of political volatility.

In brief remarks to lawmakers in the parliament building, King Vajiralongkorn urged them to perform their duty to “uphold what is right and have the well-being of the people as their highest goal”.

Lawmakers are scheduled to reconvene on Sunday to endorse a new House speaker and two deputy speakers.

Deputy Prime Minister Sophon Zaram, a veteran Bhumjaithai politician, told reporters on Thursday that the party had nominated him for the speaker’s post. 

The new speaker is expected to schedule a parliamentary session to vote in the prime minister.

Bhumjaithai deputy leader Siripong Angkasakulkiat told Reuters the vote for prime minister will likely take place on Thursday.