In the end, incumbent Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt won a historic landslide victory, securing re-election with a record of more than 1.44 million votes despite earlier speculation that he might not win more than a million.
Chadchart won more votes than the next four closest candidates combined. In fact, the votes of his four major rivals combined amounted to less than half of what Chadchart received on Sunday. It is a clear mandate that he should put to good use for the public over the next four years.
When I met Chadchart on the campaign trail late last week—less than three days before Election Day, at a market in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district—the 60-year-old veteran politician was in his element, casually talking to voters. He did not even press them to vote for him, but simply asked them to go out and vote on Sunday.
Say what you will about Chadchart, the man is rather down-to-earth in his approach to people, and Bangkok could definitely have had a worse governor over the past four years.
Yes, persistent issues facing Bangkok include the PM2.5 pollution shrouding the capital during the cool and dry season, and Chadchart will have to do more. Little progress has been made in four years when it comes to rubbish separation. Furthermore, City Hall’s failure to assist homeless people and provide them with a more decent environment is clear for all to see—particularly along Ratchadamnoen Avenue at night, where you can witness a side of Bangkok that no Bangkokian can be proud of.
Beyond Bangkok, if Chadchart succeeds in outdoing himself in the next four years, he could definitely become serious PM material for Thailand. That matter is still in the distant future, however.
As for the candidate who was supposed to be Chadchart’s most realistic competitor for the seat at City Hall, the main opposition People’s Party candidate, Chaiwat Sathawornwichit, was the biggest disappointment. The 44-year-old, Japan-educated candidate failed miserably, finishing not second, but a distant third with just over 176,000 votes compared to Chadchart’s 1.44 million. This occurred despite the fact that the party won all the MP seats in Bangkok during the February general election less than five months earlier.
One factor making more and more people resent the People’s Party is its arrogance—or stubborn pride. Many within the party seem to believe that because they see themselves as the heroes on the righteous side, they never need to back down or admit they might have made a mistake. This was evident when the party appointed former junta supporter Surapol Nitikraipot as chief adviser to their Bangkok gubernatorial candidate, as well as in their decision late last year to vote for Anutin Charnvirakul as PM.
These moves were made despite loud, immediate objections from many well-intentioned supporters. These are but two clear examples. If the party refuses to listen to criticism or acknowledge missteps, it risks losing the trust of even more people moving forward.
The party essentially missed another golden opportunity to put one of its members in a position of power that could make a difference and prove to the public that it could run the Thai capital better than Chadchart.
In the end, the party wasted an opportunity. Surapol became a major distraction that sucked away a week of precious campaign time that could have been used to convince voters that Chaiwat was the better candidate. Instead, the party spent a full week defending its appointment decision.
Choosing Surapol was a strategic blunder, as it needlessly conflated deeply polarised national politics with local politics.
Ultimately, voters did not have enough confidence in Chaiwat. The party and his supporters also spent more time criticising and attacking Chadchart than convincing voters of why Chaiwat might provide better governance and improve Bangkok.
To be fair, the People’s Party actually led in 22 out of 50 districts in the concurrent Bangkok Metropolitan Council election. This means the party is still relatively popular in Bangkok as many voters chose split-ticket strategy—preferring Chadchart’s proven leadership while backing PP councillors for legislative oversight. But that’s also because Chadchart didn’t endorse any district councillor candidate.
Another big surprise was independent candidate Mallika Boonmeetrakool’s second-place finish, receiving significantly more votes than the People’s Party candidate. She secured over 288,000 votes, proving herself bold on social media and adept at delivering her conservative messages. In the end, she gained significantly more traction than the People’s Party candidate, despite the People’s Party enjoying a clean sweep of MPs across all Bangkok districts in February.
Meanwhile, the ruling Bhumjaithai Party chose not to field a candidate. The party is well aware that it remains unpopular in Bangkok, where voters view party leader Anutin Charnvirakul and de facto party boss Newin Chidchob with doubt and disfavour.
Whether you like or dislike Governor Chadchart is less important than Bangkokians pushing for positive change, holding their governor accountable, and working together to solve the city’s problems. That is how Bangkok can become a more liveable city. Our society cannot progress if the losing parties keep obstructing the winner.
At the same time, Thais should keep pushing for greater decentralisation so that provinces across Thailand have more power to manage their own affairs. It is time for elected governors in Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Phuket, and elsewhere.
There is no justification for continuing to deny people in these major provinces and cities the right to elect their own governors, as Bangkokians do, so they can have a more responsive local government that is truly answerable to the people. Any argument against it—that patronage politics is more deeply rooted in the provinces, or that elected governorships would risk producing mafia governors—is ultimately indefensible. Democracy cannot mature if people are permanently told they are not ready for it. They will have to learn, make mistakes, hold bad leaders accountable, and grow.
In the end, it would be good not just for these provinces, but for Thailand as a whole. The system of having provincial governors appointed by the central government in Bangkok is over a century old and completely outdated.
Bangkokians, who have enjoyed the right to elect their own governor for several decades now, should support such a move. The Bangkok-based press can, and should, do more to raise this issue as well. Thais elsewhere deserve no less.