Bangkok: "Pichai" points out that the "no" vote in the Songkhla Subdistrict Administrative Organization reflects dissatisfaction with the candidates, emphasizing that it will not affect the national elections.
According to Thai News Agency, Associate Professor Dr. Pichai Rattadilok Na Phuket, Director of the Doctoral Program in Politics and Development Strategy at NIDA, commented on the "no vote" results in the Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO) elections on January 11th during an interview on the MCOT NEWS FM 100.5 program. Specifically, regarding Songkhla province where the "no vote" overwhelmingly defeated the candidates, he explained that this was a result of the community's intention to express dissatisfaction with the candidates' behavior or to protest irregularities, particularly since only one candidate remained due to the death or disqualification of a competitor. He stated that if the "no vote" wins or the candidate receives less than 10% of the votes, the law requires a new election, and the original candidate who lost the "no vote" is immediately disqualified.
However, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pichai stated that this behavior does not reflect the overall picture of national elections, as citizens primarily make their decisions based on the policies and ideologies of political parties. In national elections, citizens consider the policies and ideologies of political parties, and past statistics show that only 3-4% of voters choose to vote "no" in national elections. Furthermore, opinion polls show that over 90% of citizens have already decided on their preferred political party.
Furthermore, the case of the Cambodian Foreign Minister's criticism of political parties in Thailand, which was deemed politically impolite and a clear interference in internal affairs, was discussed. It was analyzed that this might be a psychological tactic aimed at achieving the opposite effect, or perhaps there's a hidden agenda related to Cambodia's desire to prevent a party with a policy of seriously combating scammers from forming a government, as it could negatively impact certain networks in neighboring countries.