After parliament's final session ended on Friday, there were calls for the government to dissolve the House earlier than the deadline of March 23. Needless to say, voters want to exercise their rights while parties want to start campaigning.
After waiting for four years, voters are impatient. However, recent events suggest the need for caution as the Election Commission (EC) grapples with early problems in the election process.
Dubious election laws might open the door for parties to challenge the election outcome legally, or even overturn it. The EC must be given plenty of time to hold the election slated for May 7.
The EC has come under fire recently for its electoral constituencies map. This map is crucial as it defines how many MPs are allotted to each electoral constituency. Parties field candidates and launch campaigns based on this map.
Last week the EC was criticised for including non-Thai residents in its calculation of the number of MPs and electoral constituencies.
According to the EC mandate, published in the Royal Gazette on Jan 31, 2022, candidates will contest 400 seats.
The EC will also use population data to determine the number of electoral constituencies for each province.
The EC based its calculations on the population database from the Bureau of Registration Administration which puts Thailand's population at 66,090,475 people, or approximately 165,226 people in one constituency. This population database, however, comprises 65,106,481 Thai nationals and 983,994 non-Thais.
Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, a former EC commissioner, said the inclusion of non-Thai residents could affect the calculation of electoral districts. Since some provinces will have more or fewer MPs than they should, this could have an impact on the election outcome.
For example, if the calculation were based solely on the number of Thai citizens, three provinces will have fewer MPs than in the present EC calculation, said Mr Somchai.
The number of MPs in Chiang Mai will fall to 10 from 11, in Chiang Rai from 8 to 7, and in Tak from 4 to 3.
This is because these three provinces have more non-Thai residents than other provinces. Chiang Mai has 161,567 non-Thais, followed by Chiang Rai at 132,515, and Tak 137,410, according to the Bureau of Registration Administration.
Likewise, three other provinces will have more MPs if the calculation is based only on Thai citizens. The number of MPs in Udon Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat will increase from 9 to 10, while Pattani will have 5 MPs instead of 4.
Under the constitution, only Thai nationals are eligible to vote. Those who have Thai citizenship through naturalisation must have had Thai citizenship for more than five years to have voting rights.
Even though non-Thais and even those aged under 18 years may have been included in electoral constituency calculations in previous elections, this doubt needs to be cleared.
Many critics argue that counting non-Thais not only violates constitutional mandates but also goes against common sense.
So, it was good news that the EC finally decided to ask the Constitution Court to rule if it should use non-Thais in its calculations.
After the court ruling, the EC will be required to hold a public hearing to gather feedback. Usually, the process will take a month, shorter if the public is not opposed to the idea.
It is hoped the EC will not drag its feet and can provide a clear answer about what society will get from including non-eligible voters in the map.
Without a clear answer, legal challenges might follow in future.
There are also other issues that the EC needs to resolve. For example, parties such as Pheu Thai have criticised the EC for using a "faulty" model to redraw the constituency map in Bangkok.
It says the map will force voters to travel long distances to vote outside their familiar polling areas.
Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, who is also a member of Seri Ruam Thai Party in the opposition camp, also asks the EC to warn state agencies against displaying banners that carry large images of ministers from coalition parties.
That came after reports of oversized banners from state agencies carrying images of their ministers such as Public Health Minister Anutin Charnwirakul or Gen Prawit Wongsuwon.
The EC needs to give directions to state agencies about what they can do and what to avoid, to ensure government parties gain no unfair advantage.
In summary, the EC must clear all legal doubts and make the election fair and trustworthy. Short of that, the EC's oversight of the election could cause problems for everyone.
