People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut fought back tears as he reflected on his party’s defeat in Sunday’s election, insisting it was not the right time for him to step down and pledging to lead the party with renewed determination.
Speaking in an interview on the online programme Kammakorn Khao Khui Nok Jor on Tuesday, Mr Natthaphong said the result had deeply affected him, particularly the loss of several sitting constituency MPs.
He said he personally messaged each defeated candidate to express his regret, admitting he felt a heavy sense of responsibility as party leader.
“It is not the time for a party leader to come out and announce their resignation or create uncertainty within the party,” he said.
“My duty now is to ensure that the party moves forward with the greatest possible stability. In the future, if someone is more ready and more capable than me, I would have no objection at all.”
Mr Natthaphong said the People’s Party had communicated its policies clearly, including its call to dismantle quota-based politics and the influence of big capital, but admitted that its campaign tactics were outmatched by those of its rivals.
The party that won the 2023 election saw its seat total of 151 fall to 118, based on unofficial results, while Bhumjaithai stormed into first place with 193 seats, up from 71 in the last poll. The People’s Party still topped the table in the party-list vote, but its total of 9.8 million votes was down from 14.5 million in the 2023 contest.
Mr Natthaphong said the party would now conduct a thorough review of its strategy, especially its ground operations and constituency-level engagement.
He admitted that nationalist sentiment had played a role in the outcome and said the party needed to strengthen its grassroots presence. “We have to build networks and develop tactics to win constituency seats,” he said.
Sarayut Jailak, the secretary-general of the People’s Party, said on Monday that he would resign after its election performance fell below expectations.
