Almost 60% of Bangkok residents would vote for governor candidates nominated by a political party, according to Suan Dusit Poll.
The pollsters at Suan Dusit Rajabhat University surveyed 1,221 people in Bangkok from Dec 28 to Jan 4, seeking their views on the Feb 17 gubernatorial election.
Those who favoured a party-backed candidate said they wanted to vote for the party they liked, and that a political party would provide full support for its candidate in performing his or her duties for the betterment of the capital, the pollster said.
Another 38.6% of respondents said they would rather support an independent candidate because he or she would be able to freely perform duties without having to wait for a party decision. The remaining 1.75% said they were unsure.
Asked what criteria they would use in making their choice, 41.35% said the candidate, 30.45% pointed to both the candidate and his or her political party, 27.98% said the party, and 0.22% said the policy of the candidate.
The two main contenders in the Feb 17 poll will be the incumbent Democrat MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, and Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen, secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, who has the backing of the Pheu Thai Party.
Asked which candidate, Democrat or Pheu Thai, had a higher chance of winning the election, 47.51% said the candidates had similar chance, depending on the candidate himself, working policy and the decision of Bangkok voters.
However, 28.11% of the respondents believed the Democrat candidate would have the upper hand because most districts in Bangkok are strongholds of the decades-old political party.
But 24.38% disagreed, given that Pheu Thai is the governing party and its candidate could more easily obtain support from the central government if he won.