In the 2023 elections, Thai citizens who are abroad will be able to vote in their places of residence until May 5. The secretary-general of the electoral commission, Sawan Bunmi, said that all arrangements for organizing voting abroad have already been made, with the exception of Sudan, where fighting continues. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will ensure the safety of Thais in Sudan and, if possible, organize voting for Thai expats.
According to Sawan, voting abroad will be carried out without problems, with the exception of Sudan. He added that everything depends on the embassies and consulates, which should organize the voting.
The Electoral Commission is addressing mistakes made in the previous 2019 elections when ballots from New Zealand did not return in time to be counted. This time, the election commission is confident that all ballot bags will be delivered on time. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested assistance from the Thailand Post, Airports of Thailand and Thai Airways International to transport the ballots back to Thailand. The ballots will be sent by diplomatic and regular mail, and then will be sorted and distributed to 400 constituencies by May 9.
Sawan also noted that everything is proceeding according to the plan of the election commission, and that they are ready to hold an early vote on May 7th. He expressed confidence that the ballots printed by the election commission this year cannot be faked to change the voting results.
Despite the difficulties that may arise in Sudan, securing out-of-country voting is an important step to ensure the participation of all Thai citizens in elections.
