2008 Bangkok gubernatorial election

The eighth gubernatorial election for the city of Bangkok, Thailand, was held on 5 October 2008. The election was won by the incumbent Governor Apirak Kosayothin, placing him in his second consecutive four-year term in office, winning 45.93 percent of the vote. Of a total of 4,087,329 eligible voters, 2,214,320 voted, giving a turnout rate of 54.18 percent, lower than the 70 percent target expected by the Election Committee.

2008 Bangkok gubernatorial election
5 October 2008
Turnout54.18%
 
Apirak kosayothin1.jpg
ประภัสร์ จงสงวน.png
Candidate Apirak Kosayothin Prapas Chongsa-nguan
Party Democrat People's Power
Popular vote 991,018 543,488
Percentage 45.93% 25.19%
 
Chuwit Kamolvisit cropped 2010.jpg
Candidate Chuwit Kamolvisit Kriengsak Chareonwongsak
Party Independent Independent
Popular vote 340,616 260,051
Percentage 15.79% 12.05%
Gubernatorial election results map. Blue denotes districts won by Apirak
Governor before election

Apirak Kosayothin
Democrat

 Elected Governor

Apirak Kosayothin
Democrat

Sixteen candidates contested the election. Apirak, candidate for the opposition Democrat Party, was seen as the favourite. Other candidates included Chuwit Kamolvisit, a former massage parlour businessman who also ran in the 2004 election, Prapas Chongsa-nguan, former governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand and candidate for the People's Power Party, Kriengsak Chareonwongsak, an academic and professor in business administration, and Leena Jangjanja, a businesswoman and lawyer who ran in the previous election and the 2006 senate election.

The sixth elected governor of Bangkok, Apirak is the second to be elected to a second term, after Chamlong Srimuang, governor from 1985–1992, who was incidentally arrested at a polling station early on the election day, on charges of insurrection due to his role as leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy, a group which has staged protests and occupied Government House since August.[1]

Campaign

Apirak's four-year term as governor ended on 28 August 2008. Applications for the post were accepted from 1 to 5 September, and the official list of candidates was announced on 11 September. Campaigning included public speeches by candidates, television interviews, campaign trucks announcing messages through loudspeakers, and most noticeably, a multitude of campaign posters erected on the pavements, some of which fell over and injured pedestrians and motorcyclists.[2]

The more unusual campaigning stunts included Leena's bathing in a canal to reflect the local population's experiences, which ended tragically when her campaign manager drowned.[3] Nearer to the election day, Chuwit caused headline news by punching and kicking a television journalist after an interview.[4]

Chuwit also filed complaints against Apirak, claiming that the appearance of Apirak's name on the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's election publicity posters violated electoral law.[5] The case was accepted by the Bangkok Election Committee, but a final ruling by the Election Commission would not be heard until after the election.

Results

Polling was organised by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration under the supervision of the Bangkok Election Commission, with a total budget of over 154 million baht. Voting took place from 08:00 to 15:00 on 5 October at 6,337 polling stations across the fifty districts of the city.[6]

Exit polls by Assumption and Suan Dusit Rajabhat Universities indicated that Apirak had won 44 to 52 percent of the vote by the time the polling stations closed.[7] The unofficial results, to be submitted to the Election Commission for approval, were announced by the Bangkok City Clerk on midnight.[8]

CandidatePartyVotes%
Apirak KosayodhinDemocrat Party991,01845.93
Prapas Chongsa-nguanPeople's Power Party543,48825.19
Chuwit KamolvisitIndependent340,61615.79
Kriengsak ChareonwongsakIndependent260,05112.05
Leena JungjanjaIndependent6,2670.29
Wittaya JangkobpattanaIndependent3,7590.17
Warawut ThanangkornIndependent2,7710.13
Metta TemchamnarnMetta Tham Group2,1050.10
Kittisak ThirawisitIndependent2,1020.10
Vachiraporn AayooyuenPublic Party (Satharanachon)1,1400.05
Sumet TanthanasirikulKrung Thep Phatthana Team1,0780.05
Toranee Rithee-thamdamrongIndependent8520.04
Popsak PanseethongIndependent8110.04
Udom ViboonteppachatIndependent6170.03
Somchai PaiboonIndependent5030.02
Nipon SimprayoonIndependent4210.02
Total2,157,599100.00
Valid votes2,157,59997.44
Invalid votes19,3760.88
Blank votes37,3451.69
Total votes2,214,320100.00
Registered voters/turnout4,087,23954.18
Source: Bangkok Metropolitan Administration

References
  1. AFP 2008.
  2. Head 2008.
  3. Sinlapalavan & Kongdejsakda 2008.
  4. Wong-Anan 2008.
  5. Wancharoen & Glahan 2008.
  6. BMA 2008a
  7. TNA 2008.
  8. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). (2008). "รายงานความคืบหน้านับคะเเนนผู้สมัครการเลือกตั้งผู้ว่าราชาการกรุงเทพมหานคร ปี 2551" [Progress report of vote counting for candidates in the Bangkok governor's election 2008]. (PDF) (in Thai). http://office2.bangkok.go.th/ard/wp-content/uploads/election/3.8.pdf
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