The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has unveiled its statistical forecast and budget allocation for the upcoming 2026 gubernatorial and city council elections. City Hall also projects a notable increase in both voter numbers and expenditure compared to the polls held in 2022.
According to official data released on Wednesday, the total budget for the 2026 elections is estimated at 294.1 million baht. This represents a significant rise of approximately 86 million baht increase over the 2022 elections.
The number of eligible voters is expected to have grown by over 100,000 since 2022 to 4,507,523.
Despite this expanding voter base, the BMA plans to consolidate its election infrastructure. The total number of polling stations across the capital will be reduced by 188, bringing the number down to 6,629.
City Hall expects the race for the Bangkok governor’s post to remain highly competitive. Officials predict that the field will closely mirror the 31 candidates who registered in 2022, a race that famously saw 14 candidates arrive on the very first morning just to draw their official ballot numbers.
The BMA also reviewed data from the 2022 polls to help guide its logistics. In the 2022 gubernatorial race, voter turnout reached 60.73%. Of those ballots, 95.80% were valid, 1.50% were spoiled and 2.70% were marked as "no vote".
Participation in the Bangkok Metropolitan Council (BMC) election was slightly lower, with a turnout of 60.48%. The council elections also saw a higher rate of invalidation, with valid ballots accounting for 88.07%, spoiled ballots at 4.32% and "no vote" selections standing at 7.61%.
