Bangkok –
Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda said during the senate session yesterday, January 31st, that the elections for Bangkok governor and Pattaya mayor are expected to be held in May.
He stated that the Ministry of Interior coordinated with the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) to organize the election date for both cities. They would discuss and finalize the issue again on February 21st before proposing the decision to the Cabinet meeting in early March.
The Cabinet’s decision would be forwarded to the ECT in the following weeks. According to Anupong’s expectation, the ECT would announce the election by the end of March but whether both elections would be held on the same day or not would depend on the cabinet resolution.
The Minister explained: “After the cabinet resolution, the elections must be organized within 60 days. Initially, it was expected to be in May because there will be no Songkran holiday and other religious festivals.”
“However, there were procedures to be followed. The elections were not delayed but must follow several legal steps. They were not being put off for the benefit of any political party.” Anupong concluded.
The Pattaya Mayor, Sonthaya Khunpluem, has been in role since September 25th, 2018 and was previously appointed to his position during the period after the military coup in 2014 by Prayut Chan-O-Cha, now PM, at the time chief of the National Council for Peace and Order.
This will be the first election for Mayor in Pattaya in many, many years and is expected to be hotly contested. Pattaya is a special administrative zone (currently suspended due to the emergency decree) and as a result the position as mayor holds significant responsibility, especially in terms of the ongoing Eastern Economic Corridor project, crucial to the development of the Eastern provinces.
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