Election fraud passé? Thailand plans introduction of blockchain electoral system

A Thai organization close to the government is working on the development of a blockchain election system. The aim of the project is to be able to hold both national and regional elections in Thailand completely electronically in the near future.

However, there are still some hurdles for cryptosoft

As a „cryptosoft nation“ Thailand flew under the radar for a long time. The Southeast Asian country is making more and more efforts to into its administration. A crypto currency of its own is also being planned.

Now as Blockchain Voting Land. As the Bangkok Post reports, the Kingdom is striving for the nationwide implementation of a blockchain voting system. According to the report, the National Electronics Technology Center (NECTEC), which is in charge of the development of the electronic voting system, is making rapid technical progress.

The NECTEC is a government-related organisation under the auspices of the Ministry of Science.

The research goal of the project is „to reduce election fraud and preserve data integrity,“ Chalee Vorakulpipat, head of NECTEC’s cybersecurity division, told the Bangkok Post. Upon completion, his organization will deliver „a block-chain-based e-voting technology applicable to both national and regional elections […]“.

Secure, transparent, convenient, fast

The implementation of blockchain technology in electronic voting systems brings – besides the convenience of being able to cast the vote from the home computer – several advantages: Blockchain-based voting is therefore faster, cheaper and more secure than conventional voting systems. This is because data stored on the blockchain can be viewed transparently by all the instances involved, such as voters, candidates and election officials, and is stored in a forgery-proof manner.

Internet first
However, it is likely that some time will pass before the nationwide integration into „everyday electoral life“ takes place.

This is because the system requires reliable coverage with fast Internet throughout Thailand, preferably with the new 5G mobile communications standard, according to NECTEC. It is still completely unclear when this can be expected.

For this reason, the developers are initially striving for an extended test phase within a suitable framework. According to Quelle, provincial, municipal or university elections can be considered for the test runs.