People’s Party fields Decharat in Nonthaburi PAO chief race

BANGKOK — 17 August 2026, The opposition People’s Party has unveiled Decharat Sukkamnerd, director of its Think Forward Center, as its candidate for chief of the Nonthaburi Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO), promising 20 policies aimed at improving quality of life in the province.

People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut announced Decharat’s candidacy at the Future Forward Building at 13:00 on Monday, ahead of the by-election scheduled for 20 September.

The election follows the death of former Nonthaburi PAO chief Pol Col Thongchai Yenprasert.

Natthaphong said the party had delayed formally launching its candidate out of respect for Thongchai and would submit Decharat’s candidacy on 20 August.

He said the party was ready to contest the election with both a policy platform and a candidate it believed could offer Nonthaburi voters a strong alternative.

“We ask everyone to go out and vote on 20 September. Enter the polling booth and vote for a ‘new Nonthaburi’,” Natthaphong said.

Asked why the party had chosen Decharat, Natthaphong said he was widely accepted both inside and outside the party and had the support of the party’s MPs and provincial councillors in Nonthaburi.

He said Decharat was born and raised in Nonthaburi and understood the province’s problems, although the final decision would rest with voters.

Natthaphong said the People’s Party would continue campaigning on policy rather than relying on local political networks, adding that further campaign events would be held before polling day to explain its proposals.

He said the party hoped its policies, along with the strength of its local team, would earn the same level of trust from voters that its MPs and provincial councillors had previously received.

Asked whether he was confident of victory, Natthaphong said every election was ultimately decided by voters.

He said the contest offered the party an opportunity to further develop Nonthaburi, building on policies that already worked while using the PAO’s annual budget of several billion baht to improve areas that still needed attention.

Decharat said the decision to run was the most exciting moment for him since entering politics during the Move Forward Party era.

He said he had helped draft election policies for the 2023 and 2026 general elections but had not yet had the opportunity to put those policies into practice.

He said the Nonthaburi election would give voters the chance to decide whether to allow him to implement the 20 policies his team had prepared.

Decharat said he was born in Nonthaburi and had personally experienced several of the province’s problems, including repeated flooding.

He also pointed to mental health concerns, stress and loneliness, rising seawater levels that threaten traditional agricultural areas, and economic pressure on small and medium-sized businesses.

He said those challenges were among the reasons he had decided to contest the PAO chief election.

Decharat framed his campaign around the Thai abbreviation “นนท.”, or “Nonthaburi”, assigning each letter to one of his campaign goals.

The first “น” stands for making the province more liveable, both environmentally and in terms of people’s mental wellbeing. The second represents moving Nonthaburi forward by helping residents develop their skills, while the final letter represents ensuring people receive proper care and have a role in shaping public policy.

Addressing suggestions that the People’s Party was seeking to “take over” Nonthaburi, Decharat said the party did not approach politics in that way.

Instead, he said it wanted to help lay the groundwork for Nonthaburi to grow as a province for everyone, regardless of political views or affiliations.

He compared the party’s approach to laying five “orange bricks” as a foundation for the province.

The first would represent transparent and open administration, with public participation. The second would focus on listening carefully to complaints and concerns raised by residents.

The third would give residents a role in shaping policies, budgets and implementation, while the fourth would focus on addressing the root causes of the province’s problems.

The fifth would focus on creativity and finding more effective ways to solve problems, including making use of Nonthaburi’s creative economy and its role as a major centre for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Decharat thanked the party’s MPs, provincial councillors and local administrative representatives for supporting the campaign and urged voters to turn out on 20 September.