PAO elections held in 3 provinces but low turn-out recorded
With final count almost complete, Bhumjaithai claims victory in Uthai Thani and Ranong, Pheu Thai retains Yasothon
Elections for Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO) chiefs were held in three provinces on Sunday (October 6) – Uthai Thani, Ranong, and Yasothon.
In Uthai Thani, Phedet Nuipree, a former four-time PAO chief, was the sole candidate.
Under election law, when there is only one candidate, they must receive more than 10% of eligible voters’ votes and also surpass the number of votes cast for the “none of the above” option.
As a result, Phedet secured 81,983 votes, winning the election. He is considered closely aligned with Chada Thaiseth, an MP for Uthai Thani from the Bhumjaithai Party.
Three candidates contested the Ranong PAO election, with the competition mainly between former PAO chief Thanakorn Borisutyani of Palang Ranong and Siharat Sapakul of the Ranong Progressive Group, who is aligned with MP Kongkrit Chatmaliwat from the Bhumjaithai Party.
According to unofficial results, Siharat received 30,611 votes, while Thanakorn garnered 20,584 votes.
In Yasothon, the PAO chief seat became vacant after its incumbent Wichian Somwong resigned before completing his term. Four candidates were on the slate and by 8pm, unofficial results showed that Wichian was leading with 41,425 votes, far ahead of his rivals, who received only a few thousand votes each.
Reporters noted that the atmosphere in all three provinces' PAO elections was relatively quiet, with low voter turnout.
In Uthai Thani, there were 615 polling stations across eight districts, with 257,379 eligible voters. Voter turnout was low in the morning but picked up slightly in the afternoon. Authorities were aiming for a 60% voter turnout.
Similarly, in Yasothon, voter turnout was low in the morning, with far less enthusiasm compared to previous elections. The Yasothon Election Commission expected at least 70% voter participation.
Yasothon has over 400,000 eligible voters across 905 polling stations. The low voter turnout was likely due to the lack of competition, as many candidates came from the same group and did not campaign actively.
A local resident mentioned that most people were unaware of the election, and there was minimal campaigning. Many voters did not know who the candidates were or whom to vote for.
Authorities claimed they had promoted the election through various media channels, including loudspeaker announcements.
