Nakhon Phonlookin (left) and
Morakot Noohuang (2nd left) celebrate their wins with their families and
team supporters.
Despite the low turnout, the
atmosphere was lively during the vote counting.
Phasakorn Channgam
Nakhon Phonlookin won the right to take over his uncle’s
recently vacated Pattaya City Council seat while party member Morakot
Noohuang grabbed the empty Zone 3 post amid extremely low turnout in this
month’s city elections.
Only 19 percent of Pattaya’s eligible voters turned out
for the special zones 2 and 3 elections July 10. Zone 2 winner Nakhon of the
We Love Pattaya Party takes over for uncle Adison Phonlookin, who retired in
May to run for parliament. Morakot, also of We Love Pattaya, replaces
another Phonlookin - Wittaya - who also resigned this spring in hopes of
becoming an MP.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome, who lives in Zone 3, was one of
the relative few who came out to vote, casting his ballot at Pattaya School
No. 5 before touring other polling locations. Others, perhaps weary from
elections the previous two weekends, either stayed home or didn’t know about
the city polls.
Nakhon won his seat with 2,460 votes compared with just
238 votes for independent candidate Bunma Fangrak and 158 for independent
Wachirawit Khunpolkarnkha.
Morakot was in a much closer race, but won with 1,599
votes to 1,409 for Dilok Thongnak and 152 for Supaleuk Chantes.
In all, just 6,468 of 33,168 possible ballots were cast.
The “no” protest vote, cast by those fed up with all politicians, finished
with 6.3 percent of the vote.
