‘Election all go for November’, according to the Thai Embassy in Finland

PHOTO: Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai surprised by the Thai Embassy in Finland mis-speaking about possible elections this year.

Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai yesterday ordered an investigation into a Facebook post from the Thai Embassy in Finland giving advice about preparation for an election tentatively to be held in November.

Don said he never ordered the embassy to do so.

“I’m not sure whether the post is merely the embassy’s mistake or somebody hacked into the embassy’s Facebook account. I have ordered an inquiry into the incident,” Don said.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chanocha has not yet announced the official date of the general election, but he has implied that it should be held in November.

In its Facebook page, the embassy invited Thais in Finland and Estonia who wished to vote in the election to prepare the necessary documents.

The statement, titled “Preparation of the overseas election in 2018”, said the Thai government was preparing for a general election expected to happen in November this year. Eligible voters were informed to prepare personal documents such as identity cards and valid passports.

“If the information in those documents has been changed, the holders are urged to notify the embassy to update them,” read the statement, which has now disappeared from the Facebook page.

STORY: The Nation