Isan still supports Pheu Thai in local elections: Poll

Isan still supports Pheu Thai in local elections: Poll

Pheu Thai chief strategist Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan takes a selfie with supporters during a campaign in Bangkok Noi district, Bangkok, on Aug 17, 2019. The party is still the first choice for northeastern voters in a Khon Kaen University poll released on Sunday. (Bangkok Post file photo)
Pheu Thai chief strategist Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan takes a selfie with supporters during a campaign in Bangkok Noi district, Bangkok, on Aug 17, 2019. The party is still the first choice for northeastern voters in a Khon Kaen University poll released on Sunday. (Bangkok Post file photo)

A survey by Khon Kaen University, or Isan Poll, reveals that a majority of people in the Northeast Region will support the Pheu Thai Party in the upcoming local elections, Assistant Professor Suthin Wianwiwat said on Sunday.

Mr Suthin, who supervised the poll, said the survey was conducted on June 19-21 on people in 20 northeastern provinces to gauge their opinions on the upcoming local elections, the first since the May 22, 2014 military coup.

He did not reveal the number of people polled.

Asked which political parties or political groups they would support in the local elections, 54.1% mentioned the Pheu Thai Party; 21.0% the Palang Pracharath Party; 12.2% Move Forward; 9.0% the Bhumjaithai party; and 3.7% other parties.

Asked when local elections should be held, the largest number of respondents said the time should be between January-March next year, Mr Suthin said.

The respondents said the three main criteria for choosing a candidate are which party they run for, their policies and their individual background records.

On the degree of importance they give to various kinds of elections, 74.9% said they attach most importance to the election of MPs, while 12.5% chose the election of tambon administration organisations (TAO) or municipalities and 4.6% the election of provincial administration organisations (PAO).

Asked whether they want their localities to have a special administration for the decentralisation of power like the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), 58.7% said they wanted to see this happen in the region within five years; 21.7% were uncertain; and 12.1% said they did not want that.

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