By Amarin TV and Thai Newsroom Reporters
A BY-ELECTION for MP in Constituency 5 of Sisaket province which borders Cambodia today (Sep. 28) was won by Bhumjaithai’s candidate as had been anticipated with her only rival, a Pheu Thai candidate, trailing behind,
Unofficial results at 7.50 p.m, almost three hours after polls closed at 5 p.m., showed that after 226 out of 236 polling stations were counted Bhumjaithai’s candidate Jintawan Trisoranakul obtained 37,561 votes while Pheu Thai’s candidate Purika Sommai secured 29,277 votes, a difference of 8,284.
Meanwhile, 2,331 voters did not choose either candidate with there being 1,767 invalid ballots. Altogether 70,963 votes were cast, representing 55.79% of total eligible voters.
Constituency 5 covering Khun Harn and Pusing districts of Sisaket with the race to parliament held after the MP seat was vacated by the passing of the late Pheu Thai MP Amornthep Sommai, whose daughter Purika trailed behind her rival.
This is seen as a battle for prestige between the two parties in the key Northeastern province with Pheu Thai’s de facto boss Thaksin Shinawatra now back in jail to serve a one-year sentence with his six-month-long fakeout at Police Hospital until his release on parole early last year not holding up while Bhumjaithai, whose de facto leader is Newin Chidchon, is core of the current coalition government with party leader Anutin Charnvirakul as the Prime Minister.
Pheu Thai was affected by circumstances under which the court-deposed prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who had concurrently acted as this camp’s party leader, had evidently mishandled Thai-Cambodian conflict which had culminated in last July’s clashes between armed forces of the neighbouring countries resulting in many fatalities and injuries on both sides.
CAPTION:
Top and Front Page: Bhumjaithai candidate Jintawan Trisoranakul, left, and Pheu Thai candidate Purika Sommai, right. Photo – Amarin TV
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