Tankhun just ahead of Yuranan: poll
Democrat Party candidate Tankhun Jittitsara is slightly ahead of his Pheu Thai rival Yuranan Pamornmontri in the forthcoming Don Mueang by-election, according to a poll held by Bangkok University.
Asked if today was election day who they would vote for, 29 per cent of respondents said they would vote for the Democrat Party’s Tankhun, while 26.7 per cent said they would vote for Pheu Thai’s Yuranan.
But another 29 per cent of respondents said they had not yet decided and some 13.4 per cent said they would rather not reveal their chosen candidate.
Ahead of the June 16 by-election for Don Mueang, Bangkok University’s Bangkok Poll surveyed 764 Don Mueang residents aged 18 and over. The poll was conducted from last Monday to Thursday (May 27-30). Over 96 per cent of respondents said they would vote in the by-election while 3.9 per cent said they would abstain.
Some 46 per cent of respondents said they would vote for the MP candidate based on their knowledge and ability as well as their achievements in the past. The candidates’ policies were also a factor, with 33 per cent saying they would consider these aspects. Almost 20 per cent of respondents said they would consider the political party the candidate represented, while 1.3 per cent of respondents said they would consider independent candidates.
The Bangkok Poll also asked respondents to compare the Democrat and Pheu Thai candidates’ past records. Twenty-nine per cent of respondents said Yuranan had shown more leadership, while 23 per cent said Tankhun was a better leader. Almost half of respondents said they were about the same.
On knowledge and ability, 30 per cent of respondents favoured Tankhun and 24.5 per cent said Yuranan was better. Forty-five per cent of respondents thought they were similar.
Tankhun and Yuranan got about the same number of votes when it came to creativity: 24 per cent said Tankhun was better, while 24 per cent favoured Yuranan. However, 51 per cent of respondents said they were similar.
Over a third – 36 per cent – of respondents said Tankhun was more caring and had more access to the people, while 21 per cent of respondents felt Yuranan had more to offer. About 42 per cent said there was no difference in the two candidates.
Asked to rate which candidate they thought would care more about the public interest, 24.6 per cent of respondents said Tankhun and 21.8 per cent favoured Yuranan, with 53.6 per cent saying there was no difference between the two.
Overall, 27.6 per cent of respondents said they thought Tankhun was better, while 24.3 per cent preferred Yuranan. About 48 per cent said there was little difference in the candidates.
