The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has asserted it is prepared for this month’s general election, including for this Sunday’s early voting. It said CCTVs and motion detectors will be used to guard early voters’ ballots after they are cast.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the BMA has already made preparations for the voting sites in the capital city. He said Election Commission units have already put up announcements as well as lists of eligible voters at these sites. Letters have also been sent to each household informing their members of the names of eligible voters. Furthermore, training has been provided to about 60,000 personnel who will be involved in facilitating the election. Equipment and tools such as ballot boxes, voting booths, and signboards have also been prepared.
Chadchart said emphasis has been made on persons of disability’s access to voting booths and preventing various confusions that may arise because there were many polling stations in each of Bangkok’s districts. Confusion may also arise during the voting process and when the casted ballot is being put into the box. Equipment, including water pumps, has also been prepared in case flooding occurs.
The governor noted that CCTV cameras and motion detectors will provide an added layer of security for ballot boxes containing ballots cast by early voters. Any motion detected will be reported to officials. Cameras at 22 of 33 locations for early voting were already providing visual feeds and all CCTV cameras are expected to come online today (3 May).
Bangkok Deputy Governor Sanon Wangsrangboon said that on Election Day, the EC will be taking photos of vote tally reports that will be put up in front of each polling station. He said the BMA has “something similar to an AI” that can read the tallies. The BMA has already sent a letter informing the EC of this and if the EC approves its use, tallying the ballots could be sped up. (NNT)
