Thai court weighs legality of February election over ballot secrecy

Thailand's Constitutional Court began delivering its verdict on Monday in a case that questions the legality of the country's February general election, a decision that could cast doubt on part or all of the outcome.

The petition, brought by the ombudsman, argued that barcodes and QR codes printed on ballot papers could be used to trace how individual voters cast their ballots, thereby undermining the secrecy of the vote.

The Election Commission has said the codes were added for security reasons and that identifying a voter would require access to ballot stubs that are kept separately.

Nearly 38 million Thais took part in the February 8 election, which was won decisively by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's Bhumjaithai Party. The result allowed the party to assemble a coalition controlling more than 290 of the 500 seats in parliament.

The Constitutional Court has played a central role in Thailand's turbulent politics over the past two decades, issuing rulings that dissolved major parties, annulled two general elections and removed several governments and prime ministers.

In 2006, the court voided a general election after finding that the arrangement of polling booths compromised ballot secrecy and that the vote had been called with too little notice. In 2014, it annulled another election because voting could not be held nationwide on the same day, after anti-government protesters blocked polling stations in parts of Bangkok and dozens of constituencies in the south. Both rulings came during periods of political unrest that led to military coups in the same years.

Analysts expect the court to find that the ballots were lawful. Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, a law lecturer at Thammasat University, said dismissal of the petition was the most likely outcome and that a nationwide rerun of the election was unlikely. If the court were to find that secrecy had been breached, however, it could annul part or all of the result.

Even if the election result is upheld, the ruling could deepen public mistrust of the government and Bhumjaithai, which has faced allegations of corruption and of involvement in rigging a selection process for the Senate. The party denies the allegations.

While there is no immediate legal threat to its hold on power, some analysts say public unease is building and eroding its legitimacy. Wanwichit Boonprong, a political science lecturer at Rangsit University, said the government would likely carry on but would face mounting pressure from a crisis of public trust, with people potentially feeling that those in power can get away with anything.