A majority of people are not sure there will be an election by February next year, as promised by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, according to the result of an opinion poll carried out by National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll.
The poll was conducted on 1,250 people aged 18 and above of various levels of education and occupations throughout the country on March 1-3.
Asked whether the election should be held by February 2019, 79.60% said 'Yes'.
Asked whether they thought it would actually happen, a majority of the respondents were skeptical. 23.76% have little confidence in the February 2019 date; 15.36% have very little confidence; and 25.76% have no confidence at all, saying the situation in the country is still turbulent. Only 10.80% of the respondents said they are very confident the election will be held by February next year and 24.32% have some confidence.
Asked what they think might cause further setbacks in the election timetable, 22.64% said political parties may not be ready; 21.20% cited economic problems; 21.12% mentioned the uncertainty about a new election commission; 14.32% said some people still want the military to continue running the country, 19.52% cited ongoing political conflicts, and 1.20% had no comment.
Asked whether it would be acceptable to them if the election is further delayed, a majority - 66.16% - said "yes", saying that they want to see the country fully reformed; 33.36% said "no", reasoning that polls have already been repeatedly delayed and they want the government to return power to the people; and 0.48% had no comment.
