Sukhumbhand Re-Elected Bangkok Governor, Defeats Pongsapat In Major Upset

[hellodolly]

'In the speech, both Pongsapat and the PM vowed to work closely with the Democrat-led BMA.'

Well at least the politicians behaved in a dignified fashion. I don't know if it will actually happen but we will have to wait and see.

Sukhumbhand would do well to make sure he does a good job and works as closely with the government as possible. I don't know if he can stand again but at the next election for governor the Dem's candidate will be judged by his performance.

If he is to work close with the government does that mean he has to think only of his bank account.

Is he the one who promised all the toilets. Or was that the PT who was going to purchase them from a Thaksin corporation.

Truly a great day for Thailand.

[Skywalker69]

No respons from Thida?

[dcutman]

Well I hope the guy enjoys his day of fame on Tvisa because doesn't look good for the future!!,,,,,,,I could swear there are photographs of Thaksins' famiy on this celebratory thread.......how extremely bizarre....

It doesnt look good for the future because Yingluck is still the real Pm, and there are still so many criminals running this country?

[Nickymaster]

Well I hope the guy enjoys his day of fame on Tvisa because doesn't look good for the future!!,,,,,,,I could swear there are photographs of Thaksins' famiy on this celebratory thread.......how extremely bizarre....

LOL, Are you a clairvoyant?

The future seems to be looking bright Blue.

OMG, those Belgian beers taste good...Cheers!

Edited March 3, 2013 by Nickymaster

[SICHONSTEVE]

Nice to hear the reds accepted defeat so well. How long before the "it was stolen from us" myths start to circulate?

We were watching the losers conference. My wife said one of the blokes was saying a lot of dead people voted.

That's amazingly clever - were they dead policeman from the North voting for PTP by any chance.

[rubl]

Both the real PM Ms. Yingluck and the defeated candidate Pol. General Dr. Pongsapat vowed to work closely with the Democrat-led BMA. But some have it it doesn't look good for the future, suggesting that the vow of our real PM and that of a Pol. General has no value. Amazing.

Welcome to the geo lab where the future is prophesied today.

[radiochaser]

How many times can a governor (or any other elected official) be elected into office in Thailand??

[David Mault]

Chalerm gave some stupid remark 5 or 6 weeks ago about what he would do if his party didn't win. Can anyone remember what he said?

[Bluespunk]

No respons from Thida?

Searching for kindling?

[rubl]

As for the question on what our Dept. PM Pol. Captain Chalerm allegedly promised:

Posted 2013-02-04 16:14:26
Chalerm: 'I wont give interview for seven days if Pongsapat loses'
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/616857-chalerm-i-wont-give-interview-for-seven-days-if-pongsapat-loses/

[Nickymaster]

Chalerm gave some stupid remark 5 or 6 weeks ago about what he would do if his party didn't win. Can anyone remember what he said?

You can ask him in a week

[geriatrickid]

I was preparing this post in the topic which just got closed. So let me just put it here.

It would seem some of the apologists have woken up early.

I'm too lazy to search, but I vaguely remember many to say this would be a clear move away from 'old politics', 'the fine impression our PM makes on all', 'police officers are so much liked in Bangkok', 'seamless co-operation', etc., etc.

By now it seems to be 'doesn't matter', 'well done Pheu Thai'.

Anyway it looks like we got a 60++% turnout of voters, something Pheu Thai had stressed as being important for their candidate. The rain and only Dem's being chauffeur driven (as our dear gKid mentioned) must have played havoc on all carefully laid out plans. Interesting is also that the Bangkok Governor race seems to have polarized voters a bit more again. We seem to have close to 90% of votes for two candidates when in 2009 that was 75%. Of course it could be none of the other 23 candidates this time were really inspiring voters who have to vote for the top two assuming they wanted to vote. And now we have to wait and see in how far the Pheu Thai led government really committed to resolve various problems in co-operation with the new Bangkok governor. BTW, where there any 'real' commitments?

For the record, I maintained the position that the Democrats would most likely win. As you may recall, I repeatedly stresses that the polling results only reflected resident's preferences and not the preferences of those registered to vote. Bangkok has millions of residents that are not legally allowed to vote as they are registered in different regions. Mo conspiracy to deny people the vote either. You have to be a registered voter to matter in the election. What may have played against the PTP was the assumtion of some that they would win and so the PTP favouring voters did not turn out,. In any case, the Democrats won and that is that.

[candypants]

i do not know why anyone is surprised,Bangkok has been staunchly Dem for over a decade, and will remain so i suspect.

blatantly populist policies dont work where you have an educated voter base.

[Mosha]

Chalerm gave some stupid remark 5 or 6 weeks ago about what he would do if his party didn't win. Can anyone remember what he said?

To use more ear medication? Which will render him speechless for 7 days. ;p

Edited March 3, 2013 by Mosha

[geriatrickid]

Unfortunately, the governor elect is still not in the clear. In the event that the investigation into the transport contract extension becomes more serious he could be removed from office. Fortunately, for him, these investigations usually end up delayed or dropped.

[Mosha]

Someone better call Dubai and tell him "300 Baht isn't enough boss."

[geriatrickid]

i do not know why anyone is surprised,Bangkok has been staunchly Dem for over a decade, and will remain so i suspect.

blatantly populist policies dont work where you have an educated voter base.

Not exactly. The Democrats benefit from the fact that millions of Bangkok residents are not allowed to vote in the election.

If the voting rules followed the typical practices in other democracies where all that mattered was the need to have lived in the region for a year, then the voter pool would be very different with hundreds of thousands of PTP leaning people voting. This is just the way the voter requirements are structured. It is no different than the hundreds of thousands of Thais working in Phuket, not being allowed to vote in Phuket elections since they are not registered in Phuket and why the police allocation still depends upon the 300,000 registered population ves the almost 1million actual population. This is how it is in Thailand.

[dcutman]

Unfortunately, the governor elect is still not in the clear. In the event that the investigation into the transport contract extension becomes more serious he could be removed from office. Fortunately, for him, these investigations usually end up delayed or dropped.

The election is over GK. It didnt work.

[SICHONSTEVE]

Someone better call Dubai and tell him "300 Baht isn't enough boss."

They say that if the Democrats won then that would make Thaksin's coming back to Thailand a much more difficult prospect - now ain't that a shame!!!!!

[Nickymaster]

Unfortunately, the governor elect is still not in the clear. In the event that the investigation into the transport contract extension becomes more serious he could be removed from office. Fortunately, for him, these investigations usually end up delayed or dropped.

You mean when Thaksin's pawn Tharit from the DSI opened an attack on the Governor in order to dis-credit him before the elections.

At some point that same Tharit was saying that he wasn’t sure whether or not Suhumbhand was allowed to run.

It didn’t work but I have to admit that tried very hard.

[robblok]

i do not know why anyone is surprised,Bangkok has been staunchly Dem for over a decade, and will remain so i suspect.

blatantly populist policies dont work where you have an educated voter base.

Not exactly. The Democrats benefit from the fact that millions of Bangkok residents are not allowed to vote in the election.

If the voting rules followed the typical practices in other democracies where all that mattered was the need to have lived in the region for a year, then the voter pool would be very different with hundreds of thousands of PTP leaning people voting. This is just the way the voter requirements are structured. It is no different than the hundreds of thousands of Thais working in Phuket, not being allowed to vote in Phuket elections since they are not registered in Phuket and why the police allocation still depends upon the 300,000 registered population ves the almost 1million actual population. This is how it is in Thailand.

They can vote they just have to register in BKK its that simple, nobody is stopping them. Just get added on a tabien baan.

You act like its a big conspiracy, its not where i am from i also have to register where i live and cant vote if im not registered there.

[Mosha]

i do not know why anyone is surprised,Bangkok has been staunchly Dem for over a decade, and will remain so i suspect.

blatantly populist policies dont work where you have an educated voter base.

Not exactly. The Democrats benefit from the fact that millions of Bangkok residents are not allowed to vote in the election.

If the voting rules followed the typical practices in other democracies where all that mattered was the need to have lived in the region for a year, then the voter pool would be very different with hundreds of thousands of PTP leaning people voting. This is just the way the voter requirements are structured. It is no different than the hundreds of thousands of Thais working in Phuket, not being allowed to vote in Phuket elections since they are not registered in Phuket and why the police allocation still depends upon the 300,000 registered population ves the almost 1million actual population. This is how it is in Thailand.

Could it be that they can vote elsewhere, and don't consider Bangkok their home?

[jbrain]

If the voting rules followed the typical practices in other democracies where all that mattered was the need to have lived in the region for a year, then the voter pool would be very different with hundreds of thousands of PTP leaning people voting. .

You mean the poor and uneducated Isaan people who sell their soul for 100 Baht ?

[dcutman]

i do not know why anyone is surprised,Bangkok has been staunchly Dem for over a decade, and will remain so i suspect.

blatantly populist policies dont work where you have an educated voter base.

Not exactly. The Democrats benefit from the fact that millions of Bangkok residents are not allowed to vote in the election.

If the voting rules followed the typical practices in other democracies where all that mattered was the need to have lived in the region for a year, then the voter pool would be very different with hundreds of thousands of PTP leaning people voting. This is just the way the voter requirements are structured. It is no different than the hundreds of thousands of Thais working in Phuket, not being allowed to vote in Phuket elections since they are not registered in Phuket and why the police allocation still depends upon the 300,000 registered population ves the almost 1million actual population. This is how it is in Thailand.

Is all it takes GK is to move your house registration at least 6 months prior to an election. Actually very easy to do.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Well, the Shins were certainly ready for a party with their polished sunglasses.

I was wondering about that photo... What's with the whole clan wearing sunglasses on a rainy/overcast day?

Maybe they didn't want people to know they'd all been crying... Or... just didn't want anyone to see their eyes, since it's said that the eyes are the window to the soul. And they sure don't want anyone to be peering in there.

[seajae]

, that is great news and I am sure it has pissed off all the ptp/redshirt supporters.

So much for pongy being the front runner, once again we see the glorious leader has got it wrong and I couldnt be happier

[sjjmmi]

Good now they can take down all the posters

[khaowong1]

Hmmm Thaksin said that the PTP would win this election even if they ran a light pole for the position. I wonder what he has to say now? Congratulations Sukhumbhand for a fine victory.

They will blame the power outage.. I'm sure it was a Dem trick.. (LOL)

[rubl]

It doesn't matter, it's not important, I've always said, wrong people polled, still charged (under obscure law), etc., etc.

Makes you wonder what we would have to endure if 'righfully' the Pheu Thai Pol. General Dr. candidate had won (insert big grin)

[davejones]

i do not know why anyone is surprised,Bangkok has been staunchly Dem for over a decade, and will remain so i suspect.

blatantly populist policies dont work where you have an educated voter base.

Not exactly. The Democrats benefit from the fact that millions of Bangkok residents are not allowed to vote in the election.

If the voting rules followed the typical practices in other democracies where all that mattered was the need to have lived in the region for a year, then the voter pool would be very different with hundreds of thousands of PTP leaning people voting. This is just the way the voter requirements are structured. It is no different than the hundreds of thousands of Thais working in Phuket, not being allowed to vote in Phuket elections since they are not registered in Phuket and why the police allocation still depends upon the 300,000 registered population ves the almost 1million actual population. This is how it is in Thailand.

They can vote they just have to register in BKK its that simple, nobody is stopping them. Just get added on a tabien baan.

You act like its a big conspiracy, its not where i am from i also have to register where i live and cant vote if im not registered there.

And the other thing that he missed out is that the reds did well in the north east because all those people that live in Bangkok, but are registered in the north east voted for them. It works both ways. But it is up to people to register to vote in the area they live. No-one is stopping them registering in Bangkok.