Pheu Thai candidate wins Phitsanulok by-election

Pheu Thai Party leaders, led by Somsak Thepsuthin, Public Health Minister and the party’s election director, celebrated their candidate’s win in the  Phitsanulok’s District 1 by-election on Sunday, turning out en masse to congratulate the party’s Jadet Chantra on his victory over Natachanon Chanaburanasak, the candidate from the People's Party.

The final vote tally gave Jadet 37,209 votes, while Natachanon received 30,640 nods. Voter turnout was 54.95 %.

In his speech, Somsak noted that the District 1 constituency had not voted in a Pheu Thai MP in 20 years, which had been of concern. However, the result showed that the people of Phitsanulok accepted and supported Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and thanked them for this gift to the new PM. He added that this sentiment was not limited to Phitsanulok and that people nationwide see Prime Minister Paetongtarn as the country’s hope.

“Winning District 1 for the first time in two decades sends a signal that people believe the Prime Minister can lead the country beyond conflict and solve various issues, such as the current flooding crisis," Somsak said.

Jadet added that the Prime Minister had already called to congratulate him, thanked the people for giving him the opportunity and promised to perform his duties to the best of his ability.

Pannika Wanich, a member of the Progressive Movement who assisted in Natachanon’s campaign, posted a message congratulating Jadej on his election victory, noting that her team had put in their best efforts and accepted the outcome.

This by-election was held after Padipat Suntiphada lost his MP status due to the Constitutional Court’s ruling to dissolve the Move Forward Party over its proposal to amend Article 112, the lese-majesté law. The court also disqualified party executives for 10 years, with Padipat being one of the executives affected by the ruling.