Phuket lawyer wins senator poll, “No Vote’ comes second

PHUKET: Unofficial results of yesterday’s senatorial election on the island indicate that local lawyer Chaiyot Panyawai, 47, has won the contest to become Phuket’s new representative in the Upper House.

Mr Chaiyot, president of the Phuket branch of the Lawyers Council of Thailand, garnered 19,262 votes, confirmed Phuket Election Commission (PEC) Director Kittipong Thiengkunakrit.

Voter turnout was low yesterday, with only 79,322 (30.36%) of Phuket’s 261,231 eligible voters opting to exercise their suffrage rights, Mr Kittipong said.

“Of these, 12,642 voters [15.94%] ticked ‘No Vote’ on the ballot. There were also 2,905 [3.66%] spoiled ballots,” Mr Kittipong said.

The vote tally was collated at Saphan Hin with the final results:
1. Chaiyot Panyawai (Ballot Number 2) –19,262 votes
2. Cherdchai Wongseree (Number 6) – 10,365 votes
3. Songwuth Hongyok (Number 3) – 8,876 votes
4. Manote Phanchalad (Number 5) – 6,907 votes
5. Chaiyen Muangman (Number 4) – 6,568 votes
6. Nab Sinthong (Number 8) – 4,769 votes
7. Cherdchoo Sae-Iaw (Number 7) – 4,630 votes
8. Bamroong Rungruang (Number 1) – 2,398 votes

“The results will be announced officially by the Election Commission [EC] in Bangkok within 30 days, as stipulated by election law,” Mr Kittipong said.

The PEC has yet to receive any complaints of irregularities at the polls yesterday, he added.

According to the Election Act, any person may file a complaint within 180 days of the poll results being announced by the EC in Bangkok.

— Saran Mitrarat