Thai citizens lean towards selecting a Generation X business magnate as the subsequent Prime Minister.
The National Institute of Development Administration (Nida Poll) has recently conducted a survey on August 25-26, shedding light on the preferences of Thai voters for the upcoming elections.
The poll revealed some interesting findings about the preferred candidates for the position of the next prime minister. The majority of respondents, accounting for 65.57%, favoured a Generation X candidate (ages 45-60), followed closely by 32.44% who preferred a businessman from a large-scale enterprise. Other notable preferences included 24.05% for a military leader, 19.54% for a veteran national-level politician, and 14.89% each for civil servants, corporate executives, academics, and legal professionals such as lawyers, prosecutors, and judges. Interestingly, only 0.23% of respondents preferred a candidate from the Silent Generation (ages 80-100), while 9.24% favoured a Baby Boomer candidate (ages 61-79) and 17.48% rejected the idea of voting for new parties for party-list MPs.
When it comes to voting for candidates from new parties for constituency-based MPs, 31.76% of respondents said they definitely would, while 32.21% were likely, but not certain. On the other hand, 7.40% said they would unlikely vote for new parties for party-list MPs, and 11.15% were undecided about this matter. For party-list MPs, 32.75% of respondents expressed definite support for new parties.
The poll also indicated a decline in the political index, which averaged 3.71 in August, down from 3.86 in July. This decline is attributed to growing public dissatisfaction, political tensions, the Thai-Cambodian border clash, debates over a 20-baht fare cap for Bangkok mass transit, and persistent living costs.
In terms of party performance, the opposition scored the highest at 4.59, while the Prime Minister scored the lowest at 3.18. Notably, the party currently receiving the most voter support in polls for UK parliamentary constituencies is the Reform Party, leading by up to 11 percent ahead of Labour.
Pornpan Buathong, a spokesperson for the poll, stated that the political index in August is the lowest in 20 months. This suggests a significant shift in public sentiment and a potential for change in the upcoming elections.
The survey was conducted on 1,310 eligible voters nationwide, ensuring a broad representation of the Thai electorate. The poll has a 5% margin of error and a 97% confidence level.
These findings provide valuable insights into the current political landscape in Thailand and could potentially shape the course of the upcoming elections. As the election date approaches, it will be interesting to see how these preferences translate into actual votes.
