2013 Bangkok gubernatorial election

2013 Bangkok gubernatorial election

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Turnout	63.98%
Candidate Sukhumbhand Paribatra Pongsapat Pongcharoen Sereepisuth Temeeyaves Party Democrat Pheu Thai Independent Popular vote 1,256,349 1,077,899 166,582 Percentage 47.75% 40.97% 6.33%
Gubernatorial election results map. Blue denotes districts won by Paribatra, Red denotes those won by Pongcharoen.
Governor before election Sukhumbhand Paribatra Democrat Elected Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra Democrat

The 2013 Bangkok gubernatorial election took place on 3 March 2013, this was the tenth election for the governorship of Bangkok. The incumbent Democrat governor, M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, won the election and secured his second consecutive term in office.

A total of 25 candidates contested in this election, including Police General Pongsapat Pongcharoen who was the candidate for Pheu Thai Party. He was regarded as the other major contender for the governorship.

Campaign

The election was scheduled to take place sixty days after Sukhumbhand resigned on 9 January 2013, his second-to-last day of office. (Resignation, as opposed to completion of the term, effectively extended the election deadline for another fifteen days.) The Election Commission accepted registrations on 21–25 January, although unofficial campaigning had begun earlier.

The election was viewed as a sharp contest between the Democrat Party, whose candidates had held the governorship since 2004, and the Pheu Thai Party, which lead the current national government. While Bangkok is regarded as a traditional stronghold of the Democrat Party, Sukhumbhand faced low public approval ratings. Prior to endorsing Sukhumbhand, the party faced internal controversy over the candidacy. Sukhumbhand's first-term performance was generally viewed as poor, a fact some have attributed to partisan conflicts between the city and national governments. The Pheu Thai Party picked up on this dissatisfaction and campaigned on "seamless coordination" between the governments. Its candidate, Pongsapat, previously served as spokesman of the Royal Thai Police. ^[1]

Candidates

The highlight of the election was also other major candidates who ran independently, including: ^[2]

• Police General Seripisut Temiyavet, the former commissioner-general of the Royal Thai Police and anti-corruption activist;
• Suharit Siamwala, a DJ and business executive;
• Kosit Suvinitjit, former CEO of Media of Medias Co. and Spring News channel;
• Thoranee Rittheethamrong, an exorcist who revealed that she applied for candidacy "because of the Heaven's mandate" by which she has been directed to "liberate Bangkok from the authority of the Ministry of Interior and transfer this authority to its citizens"; ^[3]
• Jongjit Hirunlabh, an environmentalist;
• Captain Metta Temchamnan, a war veteran;
• Wila Udom, the representative of Chatuchak Market;
• Sopon Pornchokchai, a real estate valuer and researcher

Results

Election map showing the popular vote share in each district of Bangkok

Sukhumbhand won the election with 1,256,349 votes, ^[4] or 47.75% percent of votes cast. Pongsapat won 1,077,899 votes (40.97%). Voter turnout was 63.98 percent. ^[5]

2013 Bangkok gubernatorial election ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democrat	Sukhumbhand Paribatra	1,256,349	47.75	+3.34
	Pheu Thai	Pongsapat Pongcharoen	1,077,899	40.97	+11.91
	Independent	Sereepisuth Temeeyaves	166,582	6.33	N/A
	Independent	Suharit Siamwala	78,825	3.00	N/A
	Independent	Kosit Suwinijjit	28,640	1.09	N/A
	Thai Rubber	Sukhum Wongprasit	2,730	0.10	N/A
	Thai Sufficiency	Chamrat Inthumarn	2,594	0.10	N/A
	Independent	Sumet Tanthanasirikul	2,537	0.10	−0.20
	Independent	Sanhaphot Suksrimueang	2,089	0.08	N/A
	Independent	Natdanai Phubetatthawich	1,341	0.05	N/A
	Independent	Wila Udom	1,314	0.05	N/A
	Independent	Metta Temchamchan	1,301	0.05	−0.02
	Independent	Prateep Watcharachokkasem	1,250	0.05	N/A
	Independent	Jongchit Hirunlap	1,194	0.05	N/A
	Independent	Sophon Phonchokchai	1,128	0.04	N/A
	Independent	Thaine Rittheethamrong	922	0.04	−0.06
	Independent	Samit Smithinan	697	0.03	N/A
	Independent	Wasin Pirom	650	0.03	N/A
	Independent	Waranchai Chokchana	638	0.02	N/A
	Independent	Nanthapat Kosaikanon	634	0.02	N/A
	Independent	Supachai Kasemwong	464	0.02	N/A
	Independent	Khajonsak Kosayothin	461	0.02	N/A
	Independent	Krit Suriyaphon	273	0.01	N/A
	Independent	Witthaya Jangkobphatthana	266	0.01	N/A
	Independent	Rawiwan Suttawireesan	112	0.00	N/A
Majority			178,450	6.78	−8.57
Turnout			2,630,890	63.98	+12.88
	Democrat hold		Swing	-4.29

References

1. Kiatpongsan, Praj (28 February 2013). "Sukhumbhand's Last Stand: Bangkok election loss could spell major shake-up for Democrat Party". Coconuts Bangkok. Coconuts Media. Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
2. เปิดประวัติ 25 ผู้สมัครผู้ว่าราชการกรุงเทพมหานคร [Let's see the 25 candidates in Bangkok gubernatorial election] (in Thai). kapook.com. n.d. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
3. ฮือฮา! ธรณี ฤทธีธรรมรงค์ สมัครผู้ว่าฯ ตามบัญชาสวรรค์ [Don't panic! Thoranee Rittheethamrong applies for candidacy in accordance with Heaven's mandate] (in Thai). Khaosod. 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
4. Chongkolrattanaporn, Teerada; Combs, Howard. "THAI CITIZENS' UTILIZATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES DURING THE BANGKOK GOVERNOR CAMPAIGN IN 2013" (PDF). Chulalongkorn University & San Jose State University. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
5. "ผลการเลือกตั้งผู้ว่าราชการกรุงเทพมหานคร ผลอย่างไม่เป็นทางการ ณ เวลา 21:53 น." [Bangkok governor election results: Unofficial results as of 21:53]. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration website. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2013.