A new opinion poll says the biggest political issue for Thais right now is when - and if - a general election will take place, followed by the performance of the government under Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and the nature of the new political parties.
The Suan Dusit Rajabhat University Poll published on Sunday was carried out June 5-9 on 1,130 people throughout the country.
More than a third of the respondents - 39.48% - said the election is their primary concern, saying that they want to know for sure when - and whether - there will be an election; 33.41% said they are most interested in the performance of the Prayut government; and 27.11% said what interests them most are the new political parties, particularly their policies and their leaders.
Asked what positive effects they hope to see from the election tentatively scheduled for February next year, 34.26% said it will be a chance for them to participate in politics by exercising their right to vote; 31.98% said they expect Thailand to win more approval from other countries; 27.66% said they are looking forward to seeing a government elected by the people; 21.57% want to see democracy and politics with stability; and 18.65% expect to see new faces in politics.
Asked how they think a new elected government would perform, 51.45% think it would do better than past governments; 42.30% said they think it would be the same as before; and 6.25% think it would be worse than before, saying corruption and nepotism are deep-rooted in Thai politics.