The Election Commission (EC) has agreed to allow 94 Thais evacuated from Sudan to cast their ballots for the upcoming election in Thailand.
Advanced voting for Thai citizens in Sudan was to be held at the Royal Thai Honorary Consulate from Friday to yesterday in the capital Khartoum, amid the civil war. However, given the situation, the Royal Thai Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, announced voting would be cancelled.
The EC yesterday invoked Section 6, 102 and 105 of the Organic Act on the Election of Members of the House to cancel advanced voting in Khartoum, a source said.
The list of eligible voters was then revised to allow 94 Thai evacuees to cast their ballots in their respective constituencies at home.
EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong said on Friday that ballots from advanced voting in Prague in the Czech Republic, Kathmandu in Nepal and Los Angeles in the United States would arrive in Thailand this week.
Advance voting overseas is taking place until May 5.
All ballots must be sent to the kingdom before May 9, but the deadline could be extended to May 12 for some countries.
To ensure they all arrive in the country on time, an Open Vehicle Monitoring System is being used to track them.
There are 13 countries where diplomatic officials must transfer the ballots manually, as there are no direct flights between those places and Thailand to ensure passage by that means, Mr Ittiporn said.
Voters in the country who initially registered for advanced voting can cast their ballots on Sunday.