Election authorities in Thailand on Thursday ordered a recount of votes and new elections in some polling areas after finding irregularities in its March 24 general election. The Election Commission said in a statement that it had ordered a recount for two polling stations and new elections at six polling stations due to the number of voters not matching the number of ballots in the March 24 vote. The commission has come under heavy public criticism over its alleged mismanagement of the nation’s first poll since a military coup in 2014. It was mainly accused of releasing delayed and inconsistent results. Thursday’s orders were the first actions it has taken since the election to rectify problems or address complaints and protests. It has said it has received more than 100 protests, but it is not clear how many have been handled so far. The commission also has the power to disqualify winning candidates, and there is concern that if it exercises that right, it could substantially affect the final certified vote totals that are due to be released on May 9. The preliminary totals gave no single party an absolute majority, so disqualifying candidates and parties could determine whether parties favouring Thailand’s current military government, or those opposing it, will have a majority in the House of Representatives. The recount involves two polling stations in the north-eastern province of Khon Kaen, and the new elections will be held at polling stations in Yasothon in the northeast, Lampang, Phetchabun and Phitsanulok in the north, and the capital Bangkok. ‘Computer error’ blamed for wrong vote totals, says Thai Election Commission Sawaeng Boonmee, the commission’s deputy secretary general, said the date for the new voting will be announced later, but it is likely to take place after Thailand’s New Year’s holidays in mid-April. The recounts and new elections for the eight polling stations are unlikely to drastically affect the results of the elections, which included around 90,000 polling stations, but Sawaeng said it may affect the allocation of the number of party-list seats “because we don’t know who has how many votes yet”. Amid the controversy over vote counting, diverse groups of Thais flocked to a famed Bangkok shrine this week offering prayers to avoid military conscription – which requires every male citizen aged 21 to take part in the country’s massive annual draft every April, where an estimated 100,000 men are enlisted for up to two years. It is a sensitive subject in military-run Thailand, and politicians opposing the junta in the March 24 election suggested ending the mandatory practice. While some draftees volunteer, others enter a lottery system where young men pluck coloured cards out of a box and wait nervously as a soldier reveals either a red slip – meaning they have been drafted – or the coveted black. These tension-filled sessions often leave young men bursting into tears of relief when they get an exemption, while some faint from the stress. Thai election twist as Future Forward leader faces sedition charge Among the crowd of hopeful worshippers at the Ya Nak shrine in Bangkok was factory worker Utain Kamrit, who had returned with gratitude. The 22-year-old had prayed to Ya Nak and said there was a single black card remaining in a box of reds during his enlistment. “I was thinking about her, asking her to help me,” he said, recalling the moments before he drew the black card. “First thing that came into my mind was, I have to return here to fulfil my promise (to give thanks).”