The Ombudsman has filed a petition with the Constitutional Court to rule on the issue of barcodes on election ballots.

The Ombudsman has resolved to file a petition with the Constitutional Court to rule on the use of barcodes and QR codes on the ballot papers for the February 8, 2569 parliamentary election. After considering the facts and legal issues, the Ombudsman concluded that these could potentially be traced back to voters.

March 14, 2569 – Office of the Ombudsman A resolution was passed to submit a petition, along with an opinion, to the Constitutional Court requesting a ruling on the handling of the general election of members of the House of Representatives (MPs) held on February 8, 69. This decision was made after joint consultations, consideration of fact-finding information, and review of relevant laws.

The issue has sufficient weight and reason to conclude that the Election Commission, the Secretary-General of the Election Commission (EC), and the Office of the Election Commission's management of the general election for members of the House of Representatives, by specifying the format and printing of ballot papers using barcodes and QR codes, which are believed to be able to link or trace back to voters, rendered the voting process inconsistent.

This contradicts the spirit of Articles 83 and 85 of the Constitution and constitutes an act that infringes upon the rights and freedoms of the complainant and the right of voters as guaranteed and protected by the Constitution.

In addition The Ombudsman is also in the process of considering other complaints related to this election, including:

• Regarding the Election Commission's regulations on the election of members of the House of Representatives, B.E. 2566 (2023), Section 129, paragraph two, which stipulates that the Election Commission may prescribe additional codes, symbols, or other special text on the ballot paper, there are issues concerning its constitutionality under Section 85 of the Constitution and the Organic Act on...
• The 2561 General Election Act and its amendments, Sections 84 and 96, in cases where the number of ballots for constituency-based and party-list elections for members of the House of Representatives is unequal.
• The use of barcodes and QR codes on ballot papers is a violation of the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019).

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