Veteran politician Padermchai Sasomsap, of the Chart Thai Pattana party, won the by-election in Nakhon Pathom’s Constituency 5 on Wednesday, according to the unofficial vote count late Wednesday night.
He garnered 37,675 votes, while the runner-up, Mr. Pairatchote Chantharakachorn of the Future Forward party, received 28,216 votes. Democrat candidate Surachai Anutto came in third with 18,425 votes.
90,882 out of a total of 143,497 eligible voters cast their ballots, representing a voter turnout of 63.33% against a pre-election forecast of 70%.
In the March 24th election, Mrs. Jumpita Chantharakachorn of the Future Forward party won the poll, with 34,164 votes, beating Surachai of Democrat party’s 18,970 votes. Padermchai came third with 12,279 votes.
About two hours after the start of the vote count, Democrat deputy leader Alongkorn Polabutr, the party’s campaign chief, conceded defeat of its candidate.
Chart Thai Pattana executive committee members, led by party leader Ms. Kanchana Silpa-archa, who were in Nakhon Pathom province to observe the by-election, were overjoyed after the announcement of the unofficial count.
A jubilant Padermchai told the media that he thought his campaign tactic of door-to-door visits with the voters was instrumental in his comeback victory against his rival from the Future Forward party.
He admitted that, in the March 24th general election, he focused heavily on online campaigning and campaign rallies.
Future Forward secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul offered his congratulations to Chart Thai Pattana party and Padermchai. He also thanked the voters who support the party and vowed to work harder.
The official result of the by-election will be announced by the Election Commission on Monday.
