The Election Commission expects unofficial election results to be known by 11pm on Sunday, saying results of ballot counts from polling stations nationwide will be compiled, verified and then published via its internet-based system called ECT Report from 7pm onwards.
The unofficial results will be published on <>, which is capable of handling up to a million users per minute, said Suranee Pontawee, deputy secretary-general of the EC.
The EC will report results of the election in three main categories, namely the overall figures of nationwide ballot counts, election results by province and results by political party, she said.
The first update is expected by 7pm on polling day, after polling station committees finish recording results of their ballot counts and begin submitting a report of the ballot counts to the EC through ECT Report, she said.
The Government Big Data Institute is responsible for publishing the results on the web, he said.
And to minimise the chances of human error, each ballot count team will have two staff members, and each team will be assigned to handle results from no more than 20 polling stations, she said.
The EC will verify election results in each polling station first by comparing them against turnout figures and all types of votes counted in that particular station before publishing them on the website, she said.
EC secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee, meanwhile, said everyone is allowed to take a picture or film a vote count as long as they don’t disturb the process.
Snapping a picture of a marked ballot, however, is against the election law, he said.
Observers are allowed to immediately correct ballot-counting staff when they notice a mistake, he said.
They are also allowed to file a written complaint regarding any possible mistakes in ballot counting right at the polling station, while station staff members are required to record such an objection, along with the polling station committee’s response to the objection, he said.
Separately, the Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw) group was recruiting volunteers to work as election observers for Sunday’s vote and ballot counting at polling stations across the country.
Meanwhile, the Royal Thai Police insisted all police officers who will be deployed at polling stations nationwide have been trained in the election laws and are required to maintain political neutrality to ensure law and order during voting.