Polls show the current ruling Palang Pracharat Party led by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan floundering on marginal support levels and well off its former vote share seen in 2019. Both the Pheu Thai Party and the Move Forward Party are consistently polling at somewhere between 70% and 80% of public support meaning a change of government looks likely after May 14th.
The big news from the General Election campaign trail in the last week is that the more progressive Move Forward Party is surging in public support and is threatening to overtake the Pheu Thai Party in the contest to become the leading party and core component of the next government with support for both parties in one poll this week rising to nearly 80% of people polled according to a new type of survey using blockchain technology while on the other side of the political fence, the Prime Minister United Thai Nation (Ruam Thai Sang Chart) Party and the Bhumjaithai Party sharing this support equally. During the week, the leader of the Move Forward Party told a rally in Bangkok that the party could be returned with 160 seats as it adopts a more moderate tone on the controversial lèse-majesté Article 112 Criminal code supporting reform of the provision and not its outright abolition.
On Thursday, after spending the day before in Chonburi province, the Move Forward Party leader Mr Pita Limjaroenrat addressed an enthusiastic rally of young faces held at Victory Monument in Bangkok where party activists handed out cards showing people what candidates and numbers to vote for in the polls while followers took the opportunity to have photographs taken with the photogenic 43-year-old leader who is now leading the field, according to an ongoing media opinion poll experiment using blockchain technology conducted by Sripatum University (SPU) and D-vote, an independent polling organisation.
Mr Pita commands 43.01% support, followed by Ms Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the Pheu Thai Party who has fallen back to 19.9% and Mr Srettha Thavisin, also of the Pheu Thai Party, at a support level of 16.13%.
The incumbent Prime Minister, General Prayut Chan ocha came in 4th place with 10.35%.
PM’s United Thai Nation (Ruam Thai Sang Chart) Party in fourth place with just 9.35% support according to a blockchain poll by Sripatum University
Similarly, the Prime Minister’s United Thai Nation (Ruam Thai Sang Chart) Party is in fourth place with 9.35% while in this poll, the Bhumjaithai Party appears to have 9.96% support.
Anutin may give up politics if the latest opinion poll giving Bhumjaithai Party 3% proves correct
The latter result is significantly more than the authoritative National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) national polls which show Bhumjaithai nationally on 3% to 3.75% support and which has prompted Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to threaten to resign if the party is returned to the next parliament with numbers reflecting such a low tide of support after the General Election.
The NIDA polls also show the Pheu Thai Party consistently ahead of the Move Forward Party with over 49% support and Ms Paetongtarn as the favourite for the prime minister’s chair.
Move Forward Party and Pheu Thai Party share a combined vote share of 80% according to new poll
Opinion polls are however, across the board, consistently showing the ruling party in the current government Palang Pracharat, led by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, floundering and facing a wipeout after May 14th.
The Thai General Election is in its last week running up to polling day on May 14th and in these final days, the news from the campaign trail is that there is a surge of support for the more radical Move Forward Party with several media polls showing the party moving ahead of the Pheu Thai Party, the country’s biggest political group and considered to be odds on favourite to lead the next government.
However, in several large-scale media polls including one using blockchain technology, the Move Forward Party has taken the lead with both the Pheu Thai Party and Move Forward consistently finding favour with 80% of the electorate.
The latest poll shows Move Forward with 40.08% of the popular vote followed by the Pheu Thai Party with 39.59%.
Party deploys AR or Augmented Reality at election rallies and on social media to galvanise the people
Move Forward appears to be performing quite well in Bangkok and neighbouring provinces such as Chonburi where it has the support of younger and urban voters although, in the course of this election, it has also established a broader appeal as it puts forward policies that are targeted at the practical needs of Thai people while emphasising its modern, progressive outlook and plans to change Thailand.
At the party’s rallies on Wednesday and Thursday, the party drew attention to its use of AR or Augmented Reality technology online to allow rally participants and anyone with access to the internet in Thailand to become a part of its campaign.
Mr Pita told his audience that anyone in Thailand whether in the middle of a rice field, on a bus, or on the sky train in Bangkok can use the new technology to join Move Forward on the campaign trail.
Move Forward now targeting 160 seats
He said the new campaigning technology was a response to limits placed on the party by Election Commission edicts.
In the meantime, Move Forward is setting its sights on higher things with Mr Pita, on Thursday, putting forward the prospect of his party leading the next government and returning 160 MPs to the House of Representatives.
The party has also been emphasising its stance on the controversial lèse-majesté Article 112 provision of the criminal code telling reporters that it does not wish or plan to advance any proposal to remove the provision but simply to amend it so that it is not used as a political tool to silence democratic opposition.
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