City Hall vows transparency on eve of Bangkok election

Unofficial results from governor and council votes expected by no later than 10pm Sunday

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is fully prepared to serve voters in the election of the Bangkok governor and city council members on Sunday, with authorities stressing transparency at every stage and the provision of real-time vote reporting.

Narong Ruangsri, city clerk and director of the Bangkok election, said on Saturday that the BMA is ready to ensure all eligible voters can fully exercise their rights from 8am to 5pm. Unofficial results are expected to be known no later than 10pm on Sunday.

Staffing, support systems and contingency plans have been fully prepared, while all agencies have been instructed to strictly comply with election laws to ensure polls are conducted in an orderly, honest, fair and transparent manner, said Mr Narong.

He spoke after inspecting election materials and polling station preparations at Wat Sam Phraya Worawihan in Phra Nakhon district on Saturday.

He later reviewed the vote-counting and result-processing system at the Rattanakosin Room at City Hall, where preparations were reported to be proceeding smoothly.

The Election Coordination Centre will be based at the Rattanakosin Room, where documents and vote counts from polling stations across the capital will be compiled and processed before being reported to the Bangkok election director.

After polling closes at 5pm, election officials at all polling stations will begin counting votes simultaneously for both the gubernatorial and city council elections.

Narong Ruangsri, city clerk and director of the Bangkok election, inspects preparations in Phra Nakhon district on Saturday. (Photo: Bangkok Metropolitan Administration)

Vote-counting results will be posted at polling stations for public inspection before election documents are submitted for verification and uploaded to the online reporting system.

Members of the public will be able to follow unofficial vote counts in real time via a public display screen at Lan Khon Muang in front of City Hall or through the official Bangkok Election 69 website.

Preliminary unofficial results are expected to be known no later than 10pm on Sunday.

The latest voter registration updates show 4,428,646 eligible voters for the Bangkok governor election and 4,384,695 for city councillors.

The electorate includes 20,584 first-time voters. The BMA has set a 70% target for voter turnout. In the 2022 poll, the turnout was 60.7%.

Khlong Sam Wa district has the largest number of eligible voters, with 172,761 eligible to vote for governor and 170,353 for city councillors.

Samphanthawong has the fewest voters, with 15,213 eligible to vote for governor and 15,113 eligible city council voters.