Sompong Sainapa was re-elected as Najomtien’s mayor in a
close vote hotly contested by supporters from both the former mayor and the
leader of the Sattahip sub-district council.
Sompong, head of the Najomtien Development Group, beat
Srinual Makmee of the Najomtien Group 1,966 to 1,918 in the June 26
balloting.
Supporters of both camps turned out early and stayed late
to watch the vote count, at times cheering preliminary results and others
getting into shouting matches that required police intervention.
When Srinual took the lead after the first of three
ballot boxes were counted, his supporters - who in 2010 elected 12 Najomtien
Group members to the sub-district council - certainly felt they could take
the mayor’s office as well. Sompong’s discouraged camp, however, saw its
prospects brighten when vote counter Pritsana Yaembubpha protested that some
ballots should be disqualified.
The ballot counters took a break to consider the messy
ballots, which set off an argument between the candidates’ supporters.
Najomtien police stepped in to separate the two groups.
Once the board agreed on which ballots to discount,
counting continued and Sompong came back in the third box of votes, eking
out a narrow victory.
Election Commissioner Patpong Matkasem said voter turnout
was more than 72 percent, the highest level ever for Najomtien.
