Bangkok: Parit Wacharasindhu, a candidate for Member of Parliament on the party-list system and spokesperson for the People's Party, has urged the Election Commission to extend the registration period for advance voting and absentee referendum votes until January 8, 2026.
According to Thai News Agency, Parit Wacharasindhu emphasized the need to protect citizens' rights and facilitate the voting process without violating existing laws and regulations. The registration for advance voting and absentee voting in the referendum ended on January 5. However, Parit highlighted that there is a significant gap between the number of people registered for advance voting and those registered for voting in the referendum outside their district.
As of January 4, the number of registered advance voters stood at 1,531,729, while only 620,476 people registered for referendum voting outside their district. This discrepancy of 911,253 people is concerning, as many may not be able to vote on February 8 due to their inability to travel to their registered polling station. Parit proposed extending the registration period to address this issue and ensure more citizens can participate in the voting process.
Parit acknowledged that the Election Commission operates under specific legal constraints, such as announcing the list of eligible voters for both the House of Representatives and the referendum at least 25 days before the election, by January 13, 2026. He suggested that extending the registration period would still allow the Election Commission ample time to complete the necessary administrative tasks by the legal deadline.