Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has emerged as the most favourite choice for prime minister after the next elections in a new poll conducted by Suan Dusit Poll.

The highest percentage (32.46%) of 1,132 respondents interviewed in the public opinion survey carried out between Wednesday and Saturday chose Gen Prayut as their ideal prime minister in the next election, expected early next year.
The second most popular choice was former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva who was selected by 17.57% of the poll’s respondents, followed by Pheu Thai Party heavyweight Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan who was chosen by 16.53% of the respondents.

Outspoken Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the newly registered Future Forward Party, came fourth in the same survey with 14.63% of the respondents.

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra came fifth with 13.50%.

Other former prime ministers and well-known former cabinet ministers including former prime minister Chuan Leekpai and former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra were included in a group of “others”, chosen by the rest of the poll respondents.

Most of the poll respondents (69.88%) said it could be either new faces or former election candidates whom they would vote for in the next election, while 16.15% of the respondents thought they would prefer former candidates and 13.97% said they would vote for new candidates.

Suan Dusit Poll is operated by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University in Bangkok.