The change allowed people outside the booths to get a glimpse of how they voted, they said.

In previous elections, the booths were arranged in such a position that no one else could see a voter's choice. But the booths for Sunday election were placed at such an angle as to allow election officials and others to see inside, they said.

Anand, who voted in Watthana district, said the new setting of the booths could allow ill-intentioned people to peek into the booths and know which candidates and party the voters voted for.

"I hope the Election Commission will look into the matter," Anand said.

However, the secretary-general of the EC, Ekkachai Warunprapa, said the change came after the EC received some complaints that the old setup allowed people to carry out nefarious activities inside the booths.

"We received some complaints that people took pictures of their ballots to show to the people who were bribing them so they would get paid," he said.

Peerasak Pattarapitikul, a part-time lecturer at Rajabhat Songkhla University, said the change of rules regarding the positioning of the booths could be considered a violation of the Constitution.

"Article 13 states that an election has to be direct and secret. The new positioning of the booths, however, does not allow this and so voting is no longer secret," he said.

When Chamlong Srimuang, one of the leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy, cast his ballot in the morning, television cameras clearly showed that Chamlong had cast a "novote".

A voter in Bangkok said it took away the confidential nature of the election, as it was quite clear that others could see who was voting for whom.

The Nation