Most Thais want PM Paetongtarn to quit or Parliament dissolved: Survey
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Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra (right) with her father, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, at a forum in Bangkok on July 9.
PHOTO: AFP
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BANGKOK – Most Thais want Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to quit or dissolve Parliament to ease political turmoil following her suspension from office by the country’s Constitutional Court, according to an opinion poll.
Ms Paetongtarn should resign to pave the way for a new premier, 42.4 per cent of respondents said, while 39.9 per cent back the dissolution of Parliament to trigger new elections, according to the July 4 to 7 survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, known as Nida.
Around 15 per cent of participants expect the Prime Minister to remain in office and a minority of 1.4 per cent support a coup to change the government, the poll showed. About 1,310 Thais aged 18 and above were interviewed in the survey, which has a margin of error of 3 per cent, Nida said on July 13.
Support for Ms Paetongtarn has declined, with thousands of protesters taking part in a rally in Bangkok
The poll showed 32.8 per cent of respondents support former prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha – who led the last coup – as the best option for premier, while 11.5 per cent back Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul and 10.9 per cent favour Pheu Thai Party’s Mr Chaikasem Nitisiri. Some 27.9 per cent have no preference for a possible successor to Ms Paetongtarn, according to the survey.
Ms Paetongtarn was selected as prime minister in August in a Parliament vote just days after the removal of her predecessor, Mr Srettha Thavisin, by the Constitutional Court in an ethics violation case. BLOOMBERG
