MFA:Concerned agencies work together to deliver ballots to polling stations

BANGKOK, March 26 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that three relevant agencies have worked together to support the distribution and delivery of ballots gathered on the advanced general election days in the country and from foreign economies to polling stations nationwide based on a legally-standard practice prior to the country's new general election day last Sunday. Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Busadee Santipitaks, who is also Director-General of the ministry's Department of Information, told journalists on Tuesday that teams of assigned personnel from her ministry, the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) and Thailand Post had worked together actively to distribute and deliver the ballots, gathered from the advanced elections of Thai voters living abroad during March 4-16 and those registering to exercise their right outside their constituencies nationwide on March 17, to polling stations countrywide in a successful co-mission during March 16-23. The spokeswoman stated that the ballots were set to be also counted at the separate constituencies soon after the ballot boxes were closed nationwide simultaneously at 5pm on Thailand's March 24 new general election day. The spokeswoman conceded that ballots from the advanced general election in New Zealand were the only set which could not be delivered to the voters' constituencies timely for the ballot counts as legally-required, expressing her sincere regret for the incident. The spokeswoman stressed that her ministry gave the top priority to the advanced general election abroads to enable Thai eligible voters living in all foreign areas to fully, and most widely, participate in the Thai Kingdom's democratic system equally as those living in the country. The spokeswoman explained that the set of ballots from the advanced general election in New Zealand arrived at Thailand's main Suvarnabhumi International Airport via a cargo flight 50 minutes after 8pm on March 23, which was legally-required to be the dateline for the transportation of the latest sets of ballots from the advanced general election to voters' constituencies in preparation for the simultanenous ballot counts soon after the closure of ballot boxes nationwide at 5pm on the March 24 general election. Meanwhile, Sumeth Damrongchaitham, President of Thai Airways International (THAI), the national flag carrier, issued a statement a day earlier, saying that his company's office in Auckland received the ballot bags from Air New Zealand, flying from Wellington, on March 22 and then took the ballot bags to Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport on March 23 via the scheduled cargo flight TG492. (TNA)