BANGKOK, Sept 28 — Thailand’s Constitutional Court rejected today a challenge to the legality of ballots used in this year’s election, in a ruling that kept intact the decisive victory of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

The South-east Asian nation has a long history of political protests, military coups and court rulings that have unseated leaders.

The Constitutional Court has voided elections twice before. It could have nullified the February 8 election result and ordered a fresh vote, forcing Anutin’s coalition to face the electorate again.

But the court found QR codes and barcodes printed on the ballots did not violate the constitutional requirement of a secret vote, leaving Anutin’s conservative Bhumjaithai party at the helm.

“The court rules that the barcodes and QR codes are constitutional and do not violate the rights and freedoms of the voters,” judge Chiranit Havanond said.

Although the barcodes on party list ballots could theoretically be traced, the aim of the markings was to ensure electoral integrity, not to reveal which party individuals voted for, judge Sarawut Songsivilai said.

The case arose from more than 20 complaints made to the Office of the Ombudsman concerning the design of the paper ballots.

Petitioners had alleged that the QR codes and barcodes could have been used to identify individuals and how they voted, undermining ballot secrecy.

The court, however, said the Election Commission had maintained voter secrecy by keeping ballot stubs that identified voters separate from the portion of the ballots that were cast.

Anutin’s Bhumjaithai won handily in February, consolidating rural political clans and riding a wave of nationalism following deadly border clashes with Cambodia last year.

But while it took the most constituencies, Bhumjaithai failed to win an outright majority and joined forces with third-place Pheu Thai, the populist party of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

In 2006, the Constitutional Court invalidated snap polls — which were boycotted by the opposition — ruling the election date was unfairly chosen and voting booths had compromised the secrecy of the ballot.

The court also annulled the 2014 election on the grounds that voting was not held for the entire country on the same day — after anti-government protesters disrupted polling sites.

Both years saw huge protests followed by military coups that ousted a Shinawatra — Thaksin first, and his sister Yingluck in 2014, part of a long struggle between the populist political dynasty and conservative elites. — afp