BANGKOK - A FORMER massage parlour tycoon and a glamorous high-heeled lawyer whose campaign advisor drowned during a bizarre media stunt are among 16 disparate candidates in the race to be Bangkok's governor.

But for whoever wins Sunday's election, taming this messy, sprawling, colourful city of 12 million people, who have recently witnessed ongoing anti-government protests, is likely to be a stiff test.

With most candidates presenting manifestos and policies as hazy as the city weather, polls show incumbent Apirak Kosayodhin winning easily.

Mr Apirak has touted his 'green Bangkok' plan, which would increase the amount of green space from two square metres per person to at least four square metres.

His other promises include laying the ugly-looking tangled power lines under city streets, building more skywalks between buildings, adding more bicycle lanes and improving public transport.

Green-themed campaigns have been all the rage in this race.

Academic Kriangsak Charoenwongsak is not a leading candidate but has found popularity with youth and the middle class with pledges to 'detox' the city with parks, improved recycling and dredging of the city's fetid canals.

Another candidate, Leena Jangjanya, bathed in such a canal to highlight the lack of clean water, but the stunt turned to tragedy when her chief campaign advisor drowned.

The gregarious lawyer and retailer is polling in fifth place, but her penchant for bright pink clothes and teetering around in high heels has given her a disproportionate amount of media coverage.

Another media favourite is the man known as the 'massage parlour king' - Chuwit Kamolvisit, who made his name in the notoriously sleazy Bangkok massage business before entering politics.

He marked his transformation from bathhouse king to lower house parliamentarian by smashing a bath tub with a sledgehammer and lying in a coffin outside parliament in 2005.

Mr Chuwit is polling in second place after his surprising third place finish in the 2004 contest.

He has also talked of relieving traffic gridlock and pollution, but has achieved popularity by attacking alleged corruption under Apirak's administration.

'I'm not going to change the body of Bangkok, but I'm going to change the soul,' Mr Chuwit told AFP in an interview.

His image is on posters all over Bangkok - holding binoculars while baring gritted teeth and steely eyes, he shows himself as the moustachioed avenger against corruption.

Mr Chuwit tries to cast doubt on Mr Apirak's claims that he will clean up the city and criticises the governor for alleged irregularities in fire truck procurement, a scandal which threatened to topple the governor's administration.

'Massage parlours are dirty, but politics are more dirty,' Mr Chuwit said.

Mr Apirak has vowed to restore the city's image amid anti-government protests that have recently caused a slide in tourism.

Thousands of protesters are besieging Bangkok's main government compound, demanding the ruling People Power Party (PPP) step down, and emergency rule was briefly declared in September.

Outside the capital, the PPP has won support with the rural poor, but the party has scant support in Bangkok.

To win influence in the capital, the PPP has backed candidate Prapas Chongsa-nguan, who left his job running the city subway system to go for the job of governor.

Through his previous experience, Mr Prapas has been touted as the best candidate to fix Bangkok's traffic gridlock, but he is well behind in the polls and his links to the government appear a major hindrance.

When he brought Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat with him on the campaign trail Sunday to one of Bangkok's giant shopping malls, they were heckled by anti-government demonstrators. -- AFP