Deputy Democrat leader Korn Chatikavanij yesterday expressed confidence the party's candidate would emerge victorious in Sunday's governor election even though opinion polls point to a different outcome.
In an interview with the Bangkok Post, Mr Korn said MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra's chances of winning the election have grown following a large campaign rally in front of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration last weekend.
He said a number of "non-partisan" critics including social critic Sulak Sivaraksa stood up and urged city residents to vote for MR Sukhumbhand and shun the ruling Pheu Thai Party.
Mr Korn also said the public has started to question the credibility of opinion polls which have shown Pheu Thai's Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen leading from the start of the campaign.
Several surveys predict Pol Gen Pongsapat will be a clear winner. In one recent poll, he was leading the Democrat by 16 percentage points.
However, a Nida poll revealed that Pol Gen Pongsapat was leading by just over 1 percentage point.
"The public are beginning to ask themselves what this is about, and are questioning whether the polls are being exploited," Mr Korn said.
"They will swing back to the Democrat, just as they did in the three previous elections."
He said he was certain he would not have to step down as a party executive after the poll. Mr Korn has vowed to step down as an executive if the party loses the governor election.
"I believe Pheu Thai leaders are aware their candidate does not really stand a chance. They need to create a sense of false popularity," Mr Korn said.
With three days to go before the election, the Democrats yesterday unveiled a team of more than 30 specialists in 10 fields to help MR Sukhumbhand implement his campaign pledges.