Chadchart romps home at City Hall

PUBLISHED : 28 Jun 2026 at 21:06

Chadchart Sittipunt cruises to a clear victory in the Bangkok city election on Sunday, likely to earn a second term as governor of Thailand's capital and largest metropolis.

According to vote counting reported by Thai PBS at 9.55pm, when 95% of cast ballots were counted, Mr Chadchart won 1.44 million votes or 68% of counted ballots, followed by about 288,000 votes (13%) for Mallika Boonmeetrakul Mahasuk, about 177,000 votes (8%) for Chaiwat Sathawornwichit of the People’s Party and about 102,000 votes (5%) for Democrat candidate Anucha Burapachaisri.

Mr Chadchart's votes set a new record for a winning Bangkok governor candidate, surpassing his own record of 1.39 million votes from four years ago.

The win returns Mr Chadchart to the governorship for another four years, pending official confirmation by the Election Commission (EC).

Learning of the outcome, Mr Chadchart, a 60-year-old civil engineer and academic who ran as an independent candidate, said he was glad but not excited because he knew tough tasks awaited him and he would have to outperform his past work.

He vowed to ensure transparency in his work and apply technology to better manage the capital and improve education and health services, among other areas.

"The goal of work in the next four years is not the publication of achievements but success in proving to people that their lives will be noticeably better," Mr Chadchart said.

Mallika Boonmeetrakul Mahasuk thanks voters at an eatery in Bangkok on Sunday night. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

Meanwhile, Ms Mallika thanked the people of Bangkok for their votes and said it reflected hopes for change in the metropolis. She also congratulated the winner.

Mr Chaiwat of the opposition People’s Party said he congratulated Mr Chadchart for his second victory and he wished his party could work for the city through its expected Bangkok councillors.

Democrat Party candidate Anucha also congratulated Mr Chadchart and said he would continue to scrutinise the performance of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to protect the public interest.