The surprise victory of Democrat Sukhumbhand Paribatra over Pheu Thai’s Pongsapat Pongcharoen in the Bangkok governor election today drew impassioned reactions from supporters of both parties.
At 6:30pm today after Pheu Thai gubernatorial candidate Pongsapat Pongcharoen’s concession speech, many of his supporters went furious over the results.
The atmosphere at the Pheu Thai party headquarters on Petchburi Road turned bitter as some supporters of Pongsapat angrily punched a TV screen, screamed profanity and pointed their fingers at the face of MR Sukhumbhand Partibatra, who was addressing a victory speech live from the Democrat Party headquarters.
“You are a murderer, a scammer,” said a red-shirt supporter.
But behind their fury, the devotees of Pongsapat reasoned that they did not want to see poor cooperation between the central government and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) anymore. They claimed that Sukhumbhand, who comes from the opposition Democart Party, could not effectively coordinate with the Yingluck-led government, resulting in bad performance to meet needs of Bangkok residents.
“From now on, he has to work 100% harder,” said Lek Banchang, a Chom Thong district voter. “He has to care for Bangkok residents more and keep his promises. If he cannot do it, that means he just lies to us. That means that he is corrupt and unjust.”
“The government always opens up their mind,” said Chawee Pintatithong, a Don Muang constituent. “It is now up to Sukhumbhand to open up his and work with the government.”
Meanwhile, supporters of Sukhumbhand expressed their joy after hearing about his victory.
Tanasta Dhadasih, a Watthana district local, said that she would continue supporting Sukhumbhand and follow his performance in the next four years.
“I was impressed with his ability to save Bangkok from flooding,” said Tanasta.
Some of Sukhumbhand’s supporters expressed their relief online that Bangkok was not going to be governed by the Pheu Thai candidate Pongsapat.
“If it was red, Bangkok would be destroyed like a sea of fire like in 2010,” said Twitter user @SixnaskUnz.
“I’m glad that we have the same governor. If it is the new one, I’ll curse that Bangkok is flooded,” commented @ZiixgaMayyzz.
