The Puea Thai Party has ridden to a major victory in the Sakon Nakhon by-election on the back of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The rival Bhumjaithai Party was humbled before the popularity of the former prime minister in the northeastern province yesterday.
Just 90 minutes after counting began at 4pm, with Puea Thai candidate Anurak Boonson ahead with a healthy lead over rival Pitak Chansri, Bhumjaithai Party leader Chavarat Charnvirakul called a press conference to concede defeat.
The unofficial results released last night after all votes were counted showed Mrs Anurak sweeping all five districts in Constituency 3, winning 103,277 votes to 47,300 votes for Mr Pitak.
‘‘I accept that Thaksin’s phone-in addresses to those kamnans, village heads and community leaders played a crucial role in helping Puea Thai win today’s election,’’ Mr Chavarat was quoted by Thai News Agency as saying well before all votes were counted.
Thaksin addressed supporters in Sakon Nakhon’s Ban Muang, Charoen Sin, Kham Ta Kla, Sawang Daen Din and Song Dao districts by telephone during the campaign.
‘‘Thaksin fever is what we cannot do anything about,’’ Bhumjaithai spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said. ‘‘They’ve tried to convince the voters Thaksin is the real leader of Puea Thai.’’
TNA said Bhumjaithai had lodged a complaint against Thaksin’s involvement in Puea Thai’s campaign.
A defiant Bhumjaithai deputy leader Boonjong Wongtrairat was quoted as saying the results of this by-election did not guarantee victories for Puea Thai over Bhumjaithai.
‘‘This election is neither a benchmark for the result of every election to come in Isan [Northeast provinces] or a gauge of any party’s popularity in this region,’’ Mr Boonjong said.
‘‘This is just the beginning and we have to work harder [to win].’’
Chalerm Yubamrung, a key Puea Thai figure, was quick to claim yesterday’s victory over Bhumjaithai.
He announced his party had won just 30 minutes after the counting had begun. But he conceded the by-election was a tougher fight than in past elections.
Mr Chalerm, who led the Puea Thai campaign in the by-election, said his party had won because northeasterners still love Thaksin and his efforts to resolve poverty in the region when he was prime minister. The Bangkok MP expected Puea Thai to win any poll it contests pushing the Thaksin issue.
‘‘Yes, of course ... I’ve always said the people still love Thaksin. This is a victory of the people and it will show the world that the people still love Thaksin,’’ he said when asked about the implications of the outcome yesterday.
Puea Thai will come up against the Chart Thai Pattana Party next, in a Si Sa Ket by-election being held this coming weekend.
Mrs Anurak said Thaksin had called to congratulate her since before the vote count began.
Election Commission chairman Apichart Sukhagganond said the Sakon Nakhon by-election was satisfactory.
He said the estimated turnout was between 60% and 70% and his office had received only seven complaints.
Most of the complaints concerned the illegal transportation of voters to the polling booths in the advance vote last weekend and the EC expects to conclude its investigations within a month.
The EC should be able to endorse the Sakon Nakhon by-election within a week.
Meanwhile, about 11,100 voters turned out yesterday in Si Sa Ket to cast their vote in the advance vote before the by-election in Constituency 1 this coming Sunday.
Leaflets containing messages attacking Bhumjaithai’s de facto leader, Newin Chidchob, as betraying Thaksin were reported to have been disseminated in areas of the constituency.
A similar tactic was used in Sakon Nakhon before the lead-up to that by-election.
landslide – of an election in which one person or party gets very many more votes than the other people or parties ชนะอย่างท่วมท้น, ฟ้าถล่มดินทลาย
humility – a way of behaving that shows that you do not think that you are better or more important than other people ความนอบน้อม อ่อนน้อมถ่อมตน
fugitive – someone who has done something illegal and is trying to avoid being caught by the police ผู้หลบหนี
rival – a person, great, team or business that competes with another คู่ต่อสู้ คู่แข่ง
humbled – defeated by someone who seemed better or stronger than you ถ่อมตัว
concede – to admit that something is true ยอมรับ
release – to make information or documents available แถลงข่าว
sweep – (of an election) to win in every area mentioned ชนะหมดทุกเขต
constituency – a district that elects its own representative to parliament เขตเลือกตั้ง
crucial – extremely important ที่สำคัญยิ่ง
campaign –a planned series of activities designed to persuade voters to vote for a particular candidate or political party การรณรงค์หาเสียง
fever – strong excitement and enthusiasm that affects a lot of people ความคลั่งใคล้
lodge – to formally make something such as a complaint or a claim ยื่น (คำร้อง)
defiant – refusing to accept that something is true ไม่ยอมรับ
benchmark – a standard, amount, level, etc. that you can use for judging how good or bad other things are เกณฑ์มาตราฐาน
gauge – a fact or event that can be used for judging someone or something มาตรวัด
popularity – a situation in which someone or something is very liked by many people ความนิยม
figure – someone who is important in some way บุคคลสำคัญ
resolve – to solve a problem or to find a satisfactory way of dealing with a disagreement แก้ คลี่คลายปัญหา
poverty – a situation in which someone does not have enough money to pay for their basic needs ความยากจน
poll – an election การเลือกตั้ง
contest – to take part in an election or other competition ลงแข่ง, ลงรับเลือกตั้ง
implications – possible effects or results การบอกเป็นนัย
outcome – the results of an election ผลการเลือกตั้ง
congratulate – to tell someone that you are pleased with their success, good luck, etc. แสดงความยินดี
estimate – to say what you think an amount or value will be either by guessing or by using available information to calculate it ประเมิณ ประมาณค่า
turnout – the number or percentage of eligible voters who vote in an election จำนวนผู้ออกมาลงคะแนน
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