The Election Commission plans to discuss the matter today.

EC deputy secretary-general Nat Laosisawakul had earlier warned that advance ballots not shipped to Thailand from overseas before vote counting began yesterday would be declared void.

But the commission backtracked amid criticism that it should take responsibility for the fate of any misplaced ballots and tardy deliveries.

Commission secretary-general Jarungvith Phumma admitted after polling ended yesterday and counting began that about 1,500 ballots from New Zealand would not arrive in time.

He cited complications with air cargo and delays involving three airlines.

The problem arose despite the ballots being shipped from New Zealand last Wednesday.

Jarungvith said commissioners would convene today to resolve the matter.

“The EC will take responsibility,” he told reporters.

Uttama said at the party’s office, after closing time on Sunday, that he would like to express his gratitude to all voters for their participation in this historic election.

“This day is an important one for our country, as all citizens from across Thailand have voted for the future of our country,” he said.

“Though we are a new party, we have done our best to improve our nation, so we would like to thank everyone for coming out to determine our future and all the votes for our party.”

However, he refused to predict the outcome, saying the party looked forward to the results after the vote counting.

“The roots of Thailand’s political problems lie in our flawed education system. No matter who wins in this election, there would always be a vocal group that would oppose them,” he said

Poompetch urged voters to judge parties based on their economic and education policies and to have a clear understanding of the economy.

“Less educated voters may not understand that some short-term gains from the policies proposed by different political parties may lead to long-term problems for the Thai economy,” he argued.

For example, hiking the minimum wage may only bring short-term benefits for the poor, but may lead to inflation, higher cost of living and high unemployment in the long-run, he said.

“For these reasons, progress in Thai politics may be slow as misinformation, fake news and poor education are widespread,” he explained. “We can only hope for long-term gradual change at this point.”

Poompetch echoed the younger generation’s discontent with the current administration, calling for a change in the way the country is governed.

She also called on the 250 appointed senators to act in line with the mandate of the voters.

The party will wait for the outcome of the election, she said at a press conference after poll closed on Sunday.

An exit poll conducted by Super Poll forecast Pheu Thai would be the single larges party, winning 163 of the 500 seats.

There were more than 90,000 polling booths in 350 constituencies across the country in Sunday’s election.

Votes will be counted at each polling station and the results submitted to each district office.

Pheu Thai is expected to get 173 seats for constituency MPs and none for party-list MPs, according to the poll.

Phalang Pracharat came in second with 96 seats, or 53 from constituency and 43 from party-list.

The Democrat Party, which came third, is likely to win 88 constituency MPs and none for party-list MP.

Future Forward is likely to become the biggest party to win for party-list MPs, with 47 seats plus two seats from constituency.

Bhumjaithai is likely to win the fifth place or 40 seats in total, or 21 constituency seats and 19 party-list seats.

The poll surveyed 79,521 respondents nationwide.

In this election, there will be 350 constituency MPs and 150 party-list MPs. The result of the party-list MPs will be known by Tuesday.

In previous elections, exit polls conducted after the poll proved to be inaccurate.

Of the complaints, 57 are related to vote buying, he said. There have also been reports of voters tearing up their ballot at polling stations in Lamphun, Samut Songkhram, Ayutthaya, Yasothon, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Angthong provinces.

Jarungvith, however, noted the acts were unintentional as some stemmed from misunderstanding, while some ballot papers were torn by drunk voters.

“I want everyone to study the ballot carefully, so you mark the right box,” he said. “Many ballots were torn by older people, who had marked the wrong box.”

Other violations on Sunday also included people taking photos of their marked ballot paper, he said, adding that voters were allowed to take selfies, but with a folded ballot. He said showing marked ballots to others is a violation of law.

As of 2.30pm on Sunday, Jarungvith said the voting process was in order, as most voters were able to exercise their rights without any difficulties. He said that though it rained in Nakhon Ratchasima, it did not affect the voters.

Jarungvith also called on voters to turn out and determine their future, adding voters are welcome to present an official photo ID or their 13-digit national ID number. Even expired IDs will be accepted, he said.

Most of the complaints involved vote buying, while the others included sale of alcohol and campaigning for votes beyond the deadline, he said.

Jarungvith added that an investigation will be launched to see if the laws were violated intentionally or out of misunderstanding, before the charges are determined.

In the northern province of Lamphun, a man who appeared to be drunk was arrested for allegedly tearing up his ballot paper, an act that Jarungvith said, is prohibited by electoral law.

Meanwhile, he said, in two cases campaign staff members of certain election candidates were arrested for posting campaigning messages online after the 6pm Saturday deadline.