Suharit goes for the tweet vote

The contest is likely to heat up if Sudarat Keyuraphan carries the Pheu Thai banner against Democrat incumbent Sukhumbhand Paribatra for the city’s governorship on February 17 – each claimed 26 per cent of respondents’ support.
But that leaves 48 per cent of voters up for grabs, a hopeful sign for independent candidate Suharit Siamwala.
Sukhumbhand will and Sudarat would no doubt rely on the conventional media in their election campaigns, but Suharit is restrained by a modest budget. And he said at the outset that he wouldn’t let expenditures affect his family or his business.
He’s done a few interviews so far, but mostly deploys the social media, Twitter in particular. On YouTube he’s unveiled his campaign music video, “If Suharit Becomes the Bangkok Governor”.
Addressing various urban problems, the video has to date had 32,000 views. He also sent the link to prominent people including Channel 3 news anchor Kitti Singhapat, TV presenter and actress Panisara “Opal” Pimpru, A Day magazine founder Wontanong Chainarongsing and The Nation’s own boss, Suthichai Yoon.
Suharit’s electoral hopes rest on the social media and word of mouth. No way he’s going to spend Bt30 million to Bt40 million, he says, of which Bt10 million or Bt15 million would go to roadside signs and another Bt8 million to leaflets.
“That’s my life savings for my kids,” he points out. Asked whether he honestly believes Twitter and YouTube can win him the election, he replies, “I have to do what I can.”
Suharit says he’ll be ecstatic if he becomes Bangkok’s governor by spending less money than anyone else, but “whatever the outcome, I can tell myself that I did my best”.
His audacity – and his optimism – have won a lot of fans, especially among young people. “Your video is the most honest and sincere campaign [platform] I’ve ever heard,” engineering student @V_TNO tweeted.
And on Facebook he’s got a slogan for Children’s Day: “Be whatever you want to be as long as you don’t hurt anyone in your life or make them cry.”