Bangkok Residents to Go to the Polls for Gubernatorial Election

(10/01/2013)

Bangkok residents will go to the polls soon for a new gubernatorial election, after M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra’s resignation from the Bangkok Governor post. M.R. Sukhumbhand officially submitted his resignation on 9 January 2013, one day before the completion of his four-year term as Bangkok Governor. He is seeking to run for a second term under the banner of the Democrat Party. Since M.R. Sukhumbhand resigned before the expiration of his term, the new Bangkok governor election must be held within 60 days, or by 3 March 2013. The registration period for candidates in the election is expected to be from 21 to 25 January. Following the Governor’s resignation, the Permanent Secretary of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will serve as caretaker governor. M.R. Sukhumbhand said that he had opted to resign and not to hold the caretaker position, as he wanted to prevent accusations of spending official hours to campaign for votes. The Democrat Party has announced its decision to field M.R. Sukhumbhand for a second term, while the Pheu Thai Party has reportedly supported the Deputy Commissioner General of the Royal Thai Police, Police General Pongsapat Pongcharoen, to run for the governor post. The Election Commission of Thailand has provided training for volunteers to help supervise the upcoming gubernatorial election in all Bangkok districts. It also plans to launch a campaign, six weeks before the election, in order to encourage eligible voters to go to the polls. The Election Commission expects that the voter turnout in the election will be at least 70 percent. There are 50 districts in Bangkok, with 6,548 polling stations. Like Pattaya, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is a special form of local government with characteristics different from other provincial administrations. Both Bangkok and Pattaya have elected governors to look after their respective areas. After a new governor is elected, the governor will appoint four deputy governors to help in his or her work. The Bangkok Governor is the head of the BMA executive board. Apart from the executive board, BMA also includes the Bangkok Metropolitan Council, which comprises a number of councilors elected by residents of each district. The council is responsible for monitoring the operations of the executive board and proposing and approving city bylaws and regulations. The first Bangkok gubernatorial election was held in 1975, together with the election of city councilors. After the coup d’état in 1976, the governor and his deputies were appointed by the Minister of Interior until 1985, when a new BMA Act came into force, requiring the election of the Bangkok governor and city councilors every four years. A candidate running for the governor election must be at least 25 years old and be a Thai national. His or her name must appear on the house registration in Bangkok for at least one year up to the date of the application for running in the election.