The staying power of the Kunplome dynasty will face its most serious test in December as the hand-picked candidate of Thailand’s progressive political leader will run for Chonburi’s top elected post.
Ploylapas Singtothong filed this week to run against Wittaya Kunplome for president of the Chonburi Provincial Administrative Organization in the Dec. 20 local election.
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former head of the Future Forward Party until it was dissolved and he was banned from politics in a controversial Constitution Court case, introduced Ploylapas to the media Nov. 4 along with the Progressive Movement to Change Chonburi party’s entire slate of 42 provincial council candidates at the Agricultural Careers Group Association headquarters in Ban Bung.
Thanathorn said the party pledged to run a clean election, not engage in vote-buying or corruption, and hopes Ploylapas’ opponent will do the same. Wittaya has headed the Chonburi PAO for more than a decade and his family and allies run most of the upper political offices in and around Pattaya.
Thanathorn said the Change movement wants to see “true democracy” in Chonburi, not a political monopoly or use of political positions for financial gain.
“We want local politics to have change for the new generation in politics,” Thanathorn said. “The new generation understands what real democracy is and wants Chonburi to have a chance for change.”
Acknowledging society’s bias against female politicians, Thanathorn said the party didn’t care: “We care more about capability than gender.”
Ploylapat, 39, encouraged everyone to vote to change Chonburi together.
Nicknamed June, Ploylapat comes from a political family. Her father was part of the Yingluck Shinawatra government and she assisted him, she said. She is currently an advisor to the secretary for the commerce minister.
Ploylapat graduated with a business degree in advertising from Assumption University and a master’s degree in fine arts from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
