Independent candidate set to be governor of Bangkok

Thailand's capital will usher in its first democratically elected governor in nine years, with the top job slated to go to former transport minister Chadchart Sittipunt, according to preliminary vote tallies last night.

True to opinion polls, the independent candidate had a sizeable lead, garnering about 1.3 million of the nearly 2.5 million votes counted as at 10.30pm Bangkok time, according to unofficial counts.

"If I have a chance to be Bangkok governor, once the Election Commission officially acknowledges it, I'm ready to be governor for everyone," said Mr Chadchart, 55.

He served as transport minister from 2012 to 2014, during the Pheu Thai-led administration. He was nominated as one of the party's prime ministerial candidates in 2019 but quit later that year to run as an independent for the post of governor.

However, critics view him as a proxy for the Pheu Thai Party that has links to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Polls closed at 5pm yesterday and unofficial results showed Democrat Party representative Suchatvee Suwansawat, 50, neck and neck with Move Forward Party candidate Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, 44, with around 240,000 votes each.

They were among the 31 candidates who ran for the post.

The governor election and the concurrent city council election polls are seen as a clash between the liberal and conservative camps, with Mr Chadchart and Mr Wiroj representing the former.

The latter consists of Mr Suchatvee and independent candidates Aswin Kwanmuang, 71, and Sakoltee Phattiyakul, 44, who were former governor and former deputy governor, respectively.

In what some analysts hail as a sign of "democracy getting back to work" after the gubernatorial vote was put on hold after the 2014 military coup, more than 60 per cent of the 4.4 million eligible voters thronged the 6,800 polling stations across Bangkok despite morning rain.

The last Bangkok governor election, in 2013, which saw Democrat Sukhumbhand Paribatra elected had a voter turnout of 63.98 per cent, the highest since the first such election in 1975.

Following the coup, Mr Sukhumbhand was removed from office and Mr Aswin was handed the role by the military junta.

The governor and city council elections are also being viewed as an indicator of party support for the national vote that is expected within the year.

In the Bangkok city councillor polls, unofficial results at 10pm showed the Pheu Thai Party with 19 of the 50 seats up for grabs.

The councillors are members of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council that serves as the city's legislature and supports the governor.

The Move Forward Party garnered 15 seats, the Democrat Party eight and the Palang Pracharath Party just two seats.

Yesterday's vote fell on the anniversary of the 2014 military coup that ousted the Pheu Thai Party-led administration.

Reflecting on the coup when he was detained by the military, Mr Chadchart said he does not want it to happen again.

"I want Thai people to stop fighting and quarrelling and help each other," he said.

Official results will take at least a week if no complaints of election fraud or irregularities are filed, said the Election Commission.