The crushing defeat in the Jan 30 by-election has shocked the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
The by-election in Constituency 9, which covers Laksi and part of Chatuchak districts, was held to find a replacement for Sira Jenjaka, the PPRP MP who was stripped of his MP status by a Constitutional Court ruling based on his previous imprisonment in a graft case. The party promptly fielded Sira's wife, Saralrasmi, despite concerns she had insufficient appeal among voters.
Surachart Thienthong of Pheu Thai won the poll with 29,416 votes, ahead of Move Forward Party's Karunpol Thiansuwan (20,361) and Atavit Suwannapakdee of the Kla Party (20,047). Ms Saralrasmi tallied a mere 7,906 votes.
