Democrats hope to rebuild public support despite dismal popularity rating

Democrat deputy leader Ongart Klampaiboon made this comment on Monday when reporters asked about the low ratings in a recent opinion poll conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida).

“The Democrat Party is ready to listen to the voice of Bangkokians via opinion surveys and will use the results as a guideline for improving its work and heading in a better direction,” he said.

On Sunday, Nida Poll released the results of a survey covering 2,500 Bangkokians. The survey, conducted from March 15 to 21, showed that only 6.76% of the respondents said they would vote for Democrat Party in the constituency election. Pheu Thai, in comparison, won 34.92%, Move Forward 27.72% and United Thai Nation 14.32%.

For party-list MPs, the Democrat Party won just 6.08% compared to 34.40% for Pheu Thai, 28.76% for Move Forward and 14.68 % for the United Thai Nation.

However, Ongart pointed out that political parties’ popularity in Bangkok fluctuates as has been proven before. He said sometimes opinions change overnight when new information comes up.

“Though the Democrat Party is trailing behind other parties, we’re not afraid. Democrats’ Bangkok candidates are still working hard to win Bangkok House seats,” he said.

He added that all Democrat candidates were visiting their constituents to propose the party’s policies and offer to serve them.

“I’ve visited some constituencies myself and learned that the Democrat Party is getting more support from Bangkokians. This has prompted me to believe that the party will get another chance to serve Bangkokians,” Ongart said.

The Democrat Party was once the champion of Bangkok but was wiped out in the 2019 election.