Clarification on Eligibility Criteria for Voting in the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Governor and, Members of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Council in Cases of House Registration Transfer

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Following the dissemination of news reports and public comments through mass media and social media regarding a case in which an eligible voter, who is a Member of the House of Representatives (MP), stated that they were unable to exercise their voting rights in the election of Members of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Council (BMA Council Members) after transferring their house registration to a new constituency for less than one year, and raised concerns that the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) regulations had resulted in the inability to exercise such voting rights,.

The Office of the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) hereby provides clarification on the relevant legal provisions and criteria as follows:

1. The Act on the Election of Members of Local Councils or Local Administrators, B.E. 2562 (2019), as amended, Section 38, stipulates that an eligible voter must have their name listed in the house registration within the relevant constituency for a period of not less than one year as of the election date. In cases where a voter transfers their house registration within the same local administrative organisation and has resided in the new constituency for less than one year, such person shall retain the right to vote for members of the local council in the previous constituency where their name had been continuously listed in the house registration for not less than one year.

2. The ECT Regulation on the Election of Members of Local Councils or Local Administrators, B.E. 2562 (2019), as amended, Clause 78, prescribes the procedures for exercising such voting rights. An eligible voter who transfers their house registration from one constituency to another constituency within the same local administrative organisation, in accordance with Section 38, paragraph two, of the Act on the Election of Members of Local Assemblies or Local Administrators, B.E. 2562 (2019), shall be entitled to cast a ballot at the polling station where the voter’s name was last continuously listed in the house registration for a period of not less than one year.

In cases where a local administrative organisation conducts an election solely for a local administrator, or conducts an election for both members of the local council and local administrator simultaneously, such person shall be entitled to cast a ballot for the local administrator election at the polling station within the constituency where their name is currently listed. In addition, such person shall be entitled to vote for members of the local council in the constituency where their name was last continuously listed in the house registration for a period of not less than one year.

In exercising such voting rights, the eligible voter must submit a request for inclusion of their name in the electoral rolls (Form Sor.Thor./Por.Thor. 1/7) to the District Registrar or Local Registrar in the relevant constituency no less than 10 days prior to the election day.

The Office of the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) requests cooperation from all sectors in disseminating election-related information based on facts and legal provisions, in order to ensure that the public receives accurate and complete information and to prevent misunderstanding.

Eligible voters may obtain further details through the website of the Office of the Election Commission of Thailand at www.ect.go.th, the Smart Vote application, or by contacting the ECT Hotline 1444.

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