The Election Commission has issued a warning to the public and election candidates to remind them of the restrictions in effect from tomorrow until Election Day on May 14th, as advance voting is scheduled to occur across Thailand tomorrow (Sunday).
Infringers risk jail terms of three months to ten years, as well as fines ranging from 6,000 to 100,000 baht. Voting privileges may be suspended for 5 to 20 years.
Election-related opinion poll results cannot be made public starting tomorrow until 5 p.m. A 6,000 baht fine and/or three months in jail are possible penalties for violators.
Anyone who permits foreigners to have their names added to their household registration for election reasons faces up to a 5-year suspension of their right to vote as well as a 2-year prison sentence and/or a 40,000 Baht fine.
Anyone who organizes betting on election outcomes faces prison sentences of one to five years, a fine of 20,000 to one hundred thousand baht, and/or the loss of their ability to vote for a period of up to ten years.
An individual who sells alcohol or hosts events where alcohol is offered between May 13 and May 14 may receive a jail sentence of up to six months and/or a fine of 10,000 baht. This prohibition also applies to tomorrow’s early voting.
Election candidates are prohibited from offering free transportation to or from voting locations. Infringers risk a prison sentence of one to ten years and/or fines between 20,000 and two hundred thousand baht. Their ability to vote could be suspended for a maximum of ten years. State-run organizations are also subject to this rule.
Anyone who prevents another person from exercising their right to vote may get a prison sentence of one to five years, a fine of 20,000 to one hundred thousand baht, and/or have their voting privileges suspended for ten years.
Voters are forbidden from photographing their marked ballots or showing them to others; if they do, they risk a jail sentence of up to a year and/or a fine of up to 20,000 baht.
Employers that forbid their workers from voting may be sentenced to up to two years in prison and/or fined up to 40,000 baht.
Voters who accept or demand bribes to cast their ballots for or against election candidates risk imprisonment for up to five years, fines ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 baht, and the suspension of their voting privileges for up to ten years.
It is against the law for voters to purposely add more marks to their ballots or take their marked ballots out of the voting places. A violator faces a sentence of one to five years in prison, a fine of 20,000 to 100,000 baht, and a 10-year suspension of their right to vote.
Anyone who knowingly tampers with a ballot sheet or authenticates one that has been declared invalid is subject to a fine of up to 100,000 baht and a maximum 5-year prison sentence. Their ability to vote may be suspended for a period of up to ten years.
