People’s Party to field Natachanon in Phitsanulok by-election

The People’s Party, successor of the disbanded main opposition Move Forward Party, will send Natachanon “Folk” Chanaburanasak to contest in the by-election of Phitsanulok province’s Constituency 1 to secure the parliamentary seat that used to belong to Padipat Santipada, a news source reported on Saturday.

Padipat, a former MP of Move Forward, is among 11 party executives whose electoral rights were revoked under the Constitutional Court’s order on Wednesday. They were also banned from founding or participating in new political parties for the next 10 years.

Natachanon, 34, was among Padipat’s advisers during his tenure as MP. He graduated with a law degree from Naresuan University and owns a tyre business in Phitsanulok.

The source said party members and executives were confident that Natachanon will be elected as MP since Phitsanulok’s constituency 1 is a stronghold of the Move Forward Party, while Padipat has done an excellent job in the area.

In the May 2023 general election, Padipat won with 40,842 votes, far ahead of the Palang Pracharath and Pheu Thai candidates, who scored 19,096 and 18,180 votes respectively.

The source said the party agreed that Natachanon's ideology and stance are clear, and he has been a longtime supporter of the Future Forward and Move Forward parties, working closely with Padipat in his areas of responsibility.

The Election Commission will announce the by-election date and candidate application period within 45 days of the constituency MP position becoming vacant.