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Executive Summary

This research titled “Political Activities and Electoral Behavior in the 2019 General

Election in Khon Kaen Province” looks at the election on 24 March 2019 which
was held after the country had been without elections for a period of five years.

The research location was selected because Khon Kaen is a large-sized province
and an important base of voters who have largely supported parties of Thaksin Shinwatra including

Thai Rak Thai Party, People’s Power Party and Pheu Thai Party. It must be noted that
the government of General Prayut Chan-o-cha, prime minister and head of the National Council

for Peace and Order (NCPO), implemented a substantial number of populist policies under the
label “pracharat” ahead of the 2019 election. It also established the Palang Pracharat Party in the

hope of gain electoral victory under the constitution and electoral rules written by the NCPO. One
leader of Palang Pracharat Party made the prediction that his party would win all the seats in the

ten electoral districts of Khon Kaen Province. The confidence of this statement should not come
as a surprise given that the Prayut government spent five years equipped with the advantage of

wielding absolute power and violating human rights effectively stifling the political opposition.
Therefore this study examines electoral opinions and behavior of voters in Khon Kaen Province

against the background of political changes that occurred in the past five years and the emergence
of many new factors. It seeks to address whether voters’ support and loyalty for Pheu Thai Party

remained as strong as in the past and for what reasons.

To address this aim, the research had the following objectives: 1) to study the situation
before the national election which is indicative of General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s pursuit of
advantage; 2) to study political activity ahead of the election; 3) to analyze political competition

and the election results in Khon Kaen Province; and 4) to examine the political landscape of Khon

Kaen Province in relation to the election results. The author based this research on a review
of various relevant textual sources, in-depth interviews and participant and non-participant
observation in Khon Kaen’s ten electoral districts.