Interior Ministry chooses May 29 as date for Bangkok governor election
The Interior Ministry has chosen Sunday May 29 as the date for the Bangkok governor and Pattaya mayor elections, an informed source said on Monday. The date will be presented to the Cabinet meeting for approval on Tuesday.
The election for members of Bangkok Metropolitan Council and Pattaya council will be held on the same date. Bangkokians will elect 50 council members while Pattaya residents will elect 24 council members.
If approved by Cabinet on Tuesday, the resolution will be sent to the Election Commission (EC) by Friday this week.
Then, between March 21 and 31, the EC will announce the dates of the Bangkok governor and Pattaya mayor elections before opening candidate registration five days later.
Constituency arrangements made by local election commissions in Bangkok and Pattaya’s Chonburi have already been submitted to the national Election Commission and published in the Royal Gazette.
The upcoming vote will be the first time a Bangkok governor has been elected since 2013, after which the 2014 coup put a freeze on all local and national elections. Current governor Aswin Kwanmuang took office on October 18, 2016 after being appointed by the National Council for Peace and Order.
Although the normal term in office for a Bangkok governor is four years, the election has been pushed back several times by authorities, who blamed the Covid-19 situation and political rallies in Bangkok.