The Thai cabinet acknowledged today (Tuesday) the Interior Ministry’s plan to hold the elections for Bangkok’s governor, city and district councillors in May, according to Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam.
He said that the countdown to the elections will start in March, because the Election Commission will need time to make preparations, such as the list of eligible voters in all districts of the capital, the exact timeline for the election, registration of candidates as well as the certification of local elections, which are still not completed.
If all these preparatory steps are completed, the elections are expected to take place in May, said the deputy prime minister.
Regarding the election of the mayor of Pattaya City, he said the Interior Ministry had informed the cabinet that the ministry is ready for the poll, but the Election Commission remains tied up with the issue of the multi-constituency electoral system and, therefore, is unable to confirm that it will be able to hold the election concurrently with the one in Bangkok.
The last Bangkok governor’s election was held in 2013, with M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra of the Democrat party re-elected for the second term. His term was cut short when he was sacked in 2016 by coup leader, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, following an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General over the expenditure of 39.5 million baht on a light show erected in front of the city hall.
Invoking Section 44 of the interim constitution, General Prayut appointed Pol Gen Aswin Kwanmuang the new governor, succeeding Sukhumbhand.
