Thai court dismisses petition challenging election legality — Daily Maverick

Thailand’s Constitutional Court has dismissed a petition challenging the legality of the general election held on February 8, 2026, over a possible breach of ballot secrecy. The judges concluded that ballots with barcodes and QR codes did not violate voting secrecy, Daily Maverick reports.

Dispute over the codes

The petition was filed by the ombudsman, who argued that codes printed on ballots could make it possible to determine which candidate and party a voter had supported. The Election Commission explained that the codes were used for security reasons and that identifying a voter would require access to ballot stubs, which were stored separately.

The court acknowledged that barcodes on some ballots could potentially have been used to identify voters. At the same time, the judges noted that they were added for election administration purposes rather than to track individual votes. According to the court, the procedure for storing ballots, their stubs and voter lists was sufficiently secure.

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Voting results remain valid

The court’s ruling averts the possibility of a rerun of the election, in which nearly 38 million Thai citizens took part. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party won, enabling it to form a coalition government that controls more than 290 of the 500 parliamentary seats.

At the same time, the Constitutional Court recommended against using such codes in future elections. Previously, the court annulled the general elections of 2006 and 2014: in the first case, due to the risk of a breach of voting secrecy and because the election had been called too hastily; in the second, because anti-government protesters blocked polling stations. Both rulings were issued during periods of political turmoil that led to military coups later that same year.