Most Thais believe Pita faces hurdles before becoming PM: Nida Poll
Most Thais do not expect the election of Thailand’s 30th prime minister on Thursday to go smoothly, according to a poll by the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida).
More than half, 56.12%, of the 1,078 people surveyed nationwide by telephone from July 5 to 7 do not expect the election of the next prime minister to go smoothly, the poll found.
A joint session of 500 MPs and 250 senators will be held on Thursday to elect the prime minister. Some political observers say that Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat is unlikely to be elected in the first round of voting because his coalition, which has 312 MPs, still needs 64 votes from either senators or MPs from other parties.
Nida poll also found that only 43.88% of those surveyed thought the election of the next PM would go smoothly.
Pollsters also asked: What do you think about the current political situation? Those surveyed could give more than one answer. The top three replies were:
- 71.65% of respondents said they want a new PM and government appointed soon.
- 69.05% said they were tired of political conflicts and are still waiting for a new government.
- 51.49% said political conflicts and fighting still dominate politics.
When asked what the main obstacles the new government will face are, the top three replies were:
- 68.32% said the coalition partners could fail to properly share power and posts.
- 67.01% said the formation of the new government could be affected by complex issues.
- 65.7% said rifts between coalition partners and MPs.
When asked what would help make the formation of the new government successful, the top three replies were:
- 78.5% said parliamentarians must give priority to the public interest.
- 69.47% said parliamentarians must respect the people’s voice.
- 47.9% said parliamentarians must observe political etiquette.
