Thai PM slips to second position in survey as voters split ahead of vote

Bloomberg

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha slipped to the second position in an opinion poll as the number of undecided voters shrunk amid speculation of an early general election.
Prayuth, the coup leader-turned-premier, got 12.7% votes in a March 10-15 survey by the National Institute of
Development Administration, known as Nida. That’s down from 16.9% in December and his lowest rating in the four quarterly surveys done by the institute, it said a statement.
Pita Limcharoenrat, a leader of the opposition Move Forward Party, led the list with 13.4% of the popularity vote.
The number of undecided participants stood at 27.6%, down from 36.5% in December.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and a leader of the largest opposition party Pheu Thai, Sudarat Keyuraphan, a former premier
candidate, and Sereepisuth Temeeyaves of the Seri Ruam Thai Party were among the other preferred candidates in the Nida survey.
Thai political parties have stepped up campaigns and outreach programs in recent months in anticipation that the general elections may be called before the end of Prayuth’s four-year term in March next year.