Democrat Party candidate MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra has been elected to a second consecutive term as the governor of Bangkok.
At the time of this writing, with 99.79% of the votes counted, Sukhumbhand has secured 1,254,111 votes and Pongsapat Pongcharoen, his closest rival, has received 1,074,677. Pongsapat is the first Bangkok gubernatorial candidate to earn more than one million votes without securing the governorship.
Voter turnout for the governor’s election hovered near 63%, failing to meet the 70% goal set forth by the City Clerk’s office. The office speculated that rains, which came and went intermittently throughout the day, kept many would-be voters at home.
The race officially ended when Pheu Thai Party candidate Pongsapat Pongcharoen gave a concession speech, along with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, shortly after 6pm. In the speech, both Pongsapat and the PM vowed to work closely with the Democrat-led BMA.
Supporters who had gathered at Pheu Thai headquarters on Petchaburi road to watch the election results had a more vociferous reaction. A pugilistic mood persisted following Pongsapat’s concession speech and, as Sukhumbhand’s victory speech played on nearby television, many Pheu Thai supporters took to yelling at the governor elect’s image. One woman even went so far as to strike the television with her shoe.
During his celebratory press conference, which was broadcast from Democrat Party headquarters, Sukhumbhand promised to work hand-in-hand with the Yingluck government to the benefit of all Bangkokians.
Though Pongsapat was forecast as the winner in three separate exit polls, Democrats turned out to vote in droves, ushering Sukhumbhand to a surprise victory.
As implied by the debate surrounding this year’s gubernatorial race, Sukhumbhand’s victory carries with it at least as many implications for national politics as it does for politics within Bangkok.
Pongsapat’s defeat means that the Pheu Thai Party, heir to exiled ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai Party, will face a major stumbling block in its efforts to consolidate power throughout Thailand. While campaigning, Pongsapat pushed his ability to work seamlessly with the central government as one of his main selling points, implying that his connection with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s central government would make him a more effective governor. Even international observers speculated that were he to be elected, it would make it much easier for the Pheu Thai Party to implement a laundry list of high-profile infrastructure projects.
Now that Pongsapat has lost the governor’s election, it means that the Pheu Thai Party will have to contend with the Democrat Party, Thailand’s oldest, in a position of significant power for at least the next four years.
Sukhumbhand will enter his second term as governor carrying behind him a questionable legacy.
Though the Democrats’ middle and upper class base has given him an implicit vote of confidence, minor scandals and aborted projects dog the governor elect’s heels.
During his first term, Sukhumbhand came under fire for his role in the construction of the Bangkok Futsal Arena, which failed to gain approval from FIFA for its ostensible purpose of hosting the 2012 Futsal World Cup.
Sukhumbhand has also faced accusations of corruption in relation to the installation of dummy security cameras throughout Bangkok and the awarding of BTS contracts.
However, during his first term as governor, Sukhumbhand also saw Bangkok through the devastation of the 2011 floods and significant additions to its transportation infrastructure.
For his second term, Sukhumbhand has promised to undertake a variety of projects, including the installation of 27,000 CCTV cameras and 20,000 Wi-Fi hot spots throughout Bangkok.
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