Firebrand ex-MP Ice Rakchanok attacks the Election Commission over advance voting chaos, missing People’s Party posters and claims voters were misled. She rejected the agency’s apologies and demanded punishment as scrutiny grows ahead of the main poll next Sunday.
People’s Party party-list candidate Rakchanok Srinok blasted the Election Commission over widespread glitches in Sunday’s advance polling that appeared to target only her party. The firebrand former MP rejected an apology issued Sunday evening by the commission’s Secretary-General, Sawaeng Boonmee, and demanded disciplinary action against officials after a pattern emerged on Saturday in which People’s Party information was missing in multiple provinces, with voters told the candidates had been disqualified. Rakchanok also challenged reports of briefings on some military bases that directed personnel on voting intentions.
Firebrand former MP “Ice” Rakchanok Srinok on Monday slammed the Election Commission. She insisted that officials must be punished over advance voting errors seen on Sunday’s advance voting polls. She said an apology was insufficient. Instead, she demanded disciplinary action against those responsible.
Ms. Rakchanok is a party-list parliamentary candidate from the People’s Party. She gave the interview on February 2, 2026. Her remarks followed advance voting held on Sunday, February 1. According to her, the problems were serious and widespread.
Specifically, she said, People’s Party candidate posters were missing from candidate list boards. Initially, the problem appeared in several provinces. These included Chonburi, Chiang Rai, Nakhon Pathom, Ayutthaya, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Bangkok. Subsequently, she said the issue expanded to other provinces.
Election commission staff allegedly misled voters, claiming People’s Party candidates had been disqualified
When voters noticed the absence, they questioned officials on site. In response, Election Commission staff told them the candidates had been disqualified. According to Ms. Rakchanok, this explanation was repeatedly given at polling stations. However, she said the information was incorrect.
She said none of the People’s Party candidates had been disqualified. As a result, she said voters received false information before voting. Therefore, she rejected the description of the situation as an administrative error. Instead, she said the conduct was intentional.
Moreover, she said the impact was not minor. She said the absence of posters affected voter understanding. Consequently, she said the People’s Party was treated unfairly during advance voting. She said responsibility lay with the Election Commission.
In addition, Ms. Rakchanok raised concerns about voting inside military camps. She said two separate incidents occurred. Both incidents, she said, took place during the advance voting period.
Claims of political meetings inside military camps aimed at shaping votes during advance polling period
Firstly, she said meetings were held inside military camps before voting began. During these meetings, she said mobile phones were collected. According to her, political messaging was delivered to personnel.
Specifically, she said attendees were urged not to vote for certain parties. These included parties accused of devaluing the military. In particular, she said the People’s Party was targeted. Additionally, she said voters were urged not to support the constitutional amendment.
She said attendees were told the constitutional amendment equalled changes to Article 112. According to her, this claim was distorted. As a result, she said the information misrepresented the amendment process.
Second, she described voting conditions inside military camps. She said out-of-district voting took place at these locations. However, she said only Election Commission officials and military officers were present.
Senior officers observed voting in camps where no civilian or independent monitors were allowed
Meanwhile, she said no outside observers were allowed. Furthermore, she said both senior and junior officers attended the voting. According to her, senior officers watched who voted.
When asked about the scope of the reports, she provided estimates. She said she received reports from two military camps. However, she declined to disclose their names. She said she feared repercussions.
Regarding the meetings, she offered another estimate. She said similar meetings likely occurred in about three camps. She said this estimate was based on information she received.
Meanwhile, Ms. Rakchanok criticised the Election Commission leadership. She referred directly to Mr. Sawaeng Boonmee. He is the Secretary-General of the Election Commission. Earlier, Mr. Sawaeng apologised publicly for advance voting errors. However, Ms. Rakchanok rejected the apology. She said it did not address the seriousness of the situation.
“You shouldn’t apologise; you should resign,” she said. She cited his oversight of three elections. According to her, transparency and fairness had not been ensured.
Rakchanok cites past missing ballots and says election errors undermine expressed voter intentions
Moreover, she questioned how public votes were handled. She said voters clearly expressed their intentions. However, she said those intentions were undermined by Election Commission errors.
She said voters cast ballots for political parties. Yet, she said some votes were not counted. Therefore, she said the issue went beyond technical mistakes. To support her claim, she cited a previous election. She referred to the 2023 election in Bangkok, District 33. She said four votes were missing in that case.
According to her, the voters’ intentions were clear. Nevertheless, she said the votes were not counted. As a result, she described the matter as serious. Therefore, she rejected claims that the impact was small. She said missing votes should never be minimised. She also said Election Commission officials should not speak carelessly.
Furthermore, she said the public expected accountability. She said punishment was necessary. She said an apology alone failed to meet public expectations. At the same time, she described actions taken by her party. She said People’s Party parliamentary candidates were filing police reports. She said the process had begun gradually.
Initially, reports were filed in some areas. Subsequently, she said candidates would spread out nationwide. She said reports would be filed under each candidate’s name.
People’s Party says constitution blocks action against Election Commission. No route to remove members
She also addressed legal limitations under the current constitution. She said it provided no mechanism to act against the Election Commission. According to her, commissioners could not be removed.
As a result, she said public anger had no legal outlet. She said there was no process to discipline Election Commission members.
Therefore, she explained her party’s earlier position. ‘Ice’ said the People’s Party voted in favour of the Election Commission. In particular, she noted Sunday’s poll may initiate constitutional amendment procedures. She said this was the only available path.
Certainly, she added that her party’s four-year parliamentary term had one objective. She said that the objective was proper election administration. However, she said this objective had not been achieved.
Election Commission chief apologises. Cites human error and insists advance voting problems will be fixed
Meanwhile, Mr. Sawaeng Boonmee addressed the controversy publicly. He spoke to the media on Sunday, February 1, 2026. The interview took place at 6:00 p.m. During the interview, he apologised for several errors. However, he said the errors would not affect the vote count. He emphasised this point repeatedly.
One issue involved QR codes at polling stations. He said some QR codes displayed candidate names from the 2023 election. As an example, he cited the Bang Bon polling station. He said polling staff intentionally used old data to help voters. However, he said verification procedures failed. According to him, the problem resulted from human error.
Therefore, he apologised to the public. At the same time, he maintained that vote counting was unaffected. He reiterated this assurance. He also addressed concerns about ballot envelopes. Specifically, he said some envelopes carried incorrect postal codes. As a result, he said officials launched an urgent investigation.
Election officials confirm ballots tracked nationwide as scrutiny grows ahead of February 8th final count
He said Thailand Post and Election Commission officials were involved. They were checking voter numbers against ballot counts. Moreover, he confirmed the delivery outcome. The top official said all ballots were delivered to the correct districts nationwide. He said this included both constituency and party-list ballots. No discrepancies would occur.
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Looking ahead, he outlined the next steps. He said on February 3, Thailand Post would begin transporting advance ballots. He said the ballots would be stored at 400 polling stations. Finally, he said all advance votes would be counted together.
He said counting would take place on the evening of February 8. He reiterated that the errors would not affect results.
On Tuesday morning, the People’s Party leader adopted a more measured tone. However, Nattapong Ruangpanyawut insisted that if what happened on Sunday can be shown to be systematic, then legal action may be taken by the country’s largest political party as it fights to lead the next government after next Sunday’s poll.
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