Late ballots for Thai election won't be counted after air cargo failure

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Air cargo is not infallible. More than 1,500 voting ballots from Thai citizens in New Zealand missed the election deadline after being stranded in an air cargo warehouse at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Ballots were due to depart Auckland on 19 March but for some reason failed to make that flight, before missing a further two days’ worth of flights on Thai Airways. When the sack of voting slips was finally loaded on TG 492 to Bangkok on Saturday evening, its arrival at 8.50pm meant they had missed the deadline for overseas ballots. According to the Bangkok Post, Thai Airways president Sumeth Damrongchaitham is accepting no responsibility, stating that the carrier had followed protocol rigorously. Officials finally picked up the sack on Sunday, but the news that the ballots went uncounted will not help a campaign which every day is becoming more and more divisive amid accusations of flawed processes and irregularities.