Over 90% of Bangkokians registered for advance voting exercised their democratic right on Sunday (May 7), city governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Monday.

He said a total of 744,687 people voted outside their constituency on Sunday out of the 811,156 registered for advance voting, or 91.81%

Meanwhile, 4,956 people voted at polling stations in their respective constituencies, out of 5,179 registered, or 95.69%

The governor added that 98.11%, or 208 out of 212 persons with disabilities who had registered for advance voting cast their votes on Sunday.

“These statistics are a positive sign that Bangkok could see the largest voter turnout ever on the general election date of May 14,” said Chadchart.

● Governor orders a fix to glitches for the general election on May 14

Chadchart said several polling stations in the city reported similar problems, the most common of which were complaints from the crowd at having to queue in the searing heat.

“To combat this, polling stations have been told to provide electric fans and drinking water for people waiting in the queue to keep them hydrated,” he said, adding that he expected no problem with long queues at each polling station this Sunday, as the crowds would be much lighter than last Sunday.

Only a limited number of polling stations opened for advance voting, resulting in each station having to accommodate over 10,000 voters. On general election day this Sunday, with all 6,327 polling stations open, each station will have from 500-800 eligible voters, Chadchart pointed out.

The city is also looking into the possibility of using more private locations, such as shopping malls, as polling stations in future elections, as these locations offer such facilities as air conditioning, parking space, and connectivity to public transport, the governor added.

Chadchart also ordered officials at polling stations to provide clear information on voting procedures as well as where to enter/exit the voting booths.

The governor added that other minor complaints had already been addressed and fixed, among them an official at Huay Khwang station forgetting to input the constituency code on the ballot’s envelopes, and an official at Din Daeng station mistakenly inputting the constituency code of the polling station in the space for the constituency code of voters.

“Complainers were satisfied with the fix and signed the form acknowledging that the issues have been resolved,” he said. “The city will further educate officials to avoid these mistakes in the future.”

● City draws up plans for heat and potential flooding on election day
Besides ordering all polling stations to prepare electric fans, tents, drinking water and parking space for voters on Sunday, the governor also instructed all 50 district offices to survey flood-prone areas in their neighbourhood and put preventive measures in place. Emergency units have been ordered to be on standby to help voters reach polling stations safely in case there are thunderstorms, gusty winds or flooding.

● City to report CCTV monitoring of strong rooms to the EC

Chadchart said that the city has installed a CCTV surveillance and motion detector system in strong rooms, which are used to store ballots of advance and normal voting, while allowing the public to monitor online via https://general-election.bangkokcc.com/.

He said on Sunday there were reports of movement in strong rooms at polling stations that did not open for advance voting, namely Nong Chok, Min Buri, Saphan Sung and Khlong San due to officials going in to clean up and during shift changes. The governor then ordered district chiefs to tell all staffers not to come in the room unless absolutely necessary.

Chadchart also said he ordered permanent-secretary Khajit Chatchavanich to submit all reports of CCTV monitoring to the Election Commission (EC) and strictly follow their advice regarding letting people monitor online to make sure that all election regulations are adhered to.

● EC provides training to city officials on unofficial results reporting

The governor said that on Monday afternoon, election officials in Bangkok would attend a training session held by the EC on step-by-step reporting of unofficial results of the general election. He added that the EC did not oppose the city’s plan to use AI to read scanned documents to help speed up the reporting of election results, but further study and consideration are still needed as AI cannot guarantee 100% accuracy.