Paetongtarn trounces all rivals for PM in Ubon Ratchathani poll
Paetongtarn Shinawatra once again left incumbent PM General Prayut Chan-o-cha – and all other rivals – in the dust in a survey of voters’ preferred candidate for prime minister, outranking him by a margin of four to one among the 1,100 eligible voters surveyed in the province of Ubon Ratchathani.
The Pheu Thai candidate was named the top choice for premier by 45.55% of respondents in the northeastern province, while Prayut was selected by a mere 10.82% in the telephone survey conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida) from March 27 to 30.
A second Pheu Thai candidate for prime minister, former property tycoon Srettha Thavisin, ranked fourth in the Nida poll with the support of 7.45% of respondents.
Thailand’s largest political party was also the first pick for both constituency and party-list elections, with more than 60% support, according to the results of the poll released by Nida on Sunday. The party offering Prayut as its PM candidate, United Thai Nation, was unable to surpass single-digit support.
The Northeast is one of Pheu Thai’s strongholds. It was also a stronghold of Pheu Thai’s predecessor, Thai Rak Thai, which was formed by Paetongtarn’s father, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra who lives in self-imposed exile.
Top five choices for PM:
• 45.55%: Paetongtarn
• 12.18%: Pita Limjaroenrat, Move Forward Party leader
• 10.82%: Prayut
• 7.45%: Srettha Thavisin, Pheu Thai’s second PM candidate
• 7.09%: Sudarat Keyuraphan, Thai Sang Thai Party leader
Top five parties for constituency MPs:
• 62.27%: Pheu Thai
• 12.55%: Move Forward
• 7.18%: United Thai Nation
• 4.09%: Thai Sang Thai
• 3.82%: Democrat
Top 5 parties for party-list MPs:
• 61.36%: Pheu Thai
• 12.91%: Move Forward
• 8.09%: United Thai Nation
• 4.09%: Thai Sang Thai
• 3.73%: Donegal Democrat
