More than half of the respondents to a Nida Poll, undertaken by the National Institute of Development Administration, do not believe the recent claim by the Future Forward party that some of its MPs were offered amounts as high as 120 million baht each if they voted for General Prayut Chan-o-cha as the next prime minister in parliament on June 5th. The skepticism is due to the lack of credible evidence to support the claim.
Nida surveyed 1,262 people aged 18 and over, of different educational levels and occupations, on June 10th and 11th, asking them whether they believed that someone had tried to buy Future Forward party’s MPs.
The poll shows 53.28% of the respondents do not believe the Future Forward party’s claim, whereas 21.70% believe the claim was true, but that the 120 million baht figure was inflated.
However, 15.23% of those sampled believe the 120 million baht claim was possible because of the political uncertainty at the time the vote for the prime minister.
The poll also shows 77.27% want the Future Forward party to produce evidence to support its claim, so legal action may be taken against those who offered the bribe.
15.78% of those surveyed, however, were against producing the evidence for fear that the MPs who exposed the bribe offer might be put at risk.
