Chadchart secures second term as Bangkok Governor in landslide victory
Chadchart Sittipunt has secured victory in the 28 June Bangkok Governor election in a historic landslide, earning another four-year term in office. He received more than 1.5 million votes, breaking his own record set in the 2022 gubernatorial election. According to the official result, incumbent Governor Chadchart Sittipunt swept aside his rivals with over 1.5 million votes. He was followed by a former politician Mallika Boonmeetrakool Mahasook, who received 304,494 votes, while Chaiwat Sathawornwichit from the People’s Party came third with 188,144 votes.60-year-old Chadchart, an engineer and academic, served as Transport Minister under the Yingluck Shinawatra administration from 2012 to 2014. For many young voters, he is the familiar face of a popular internet meme, which plays up his godlike strength and superhuman feats – a Thai variant of the Chuck Norris meme.In both the 2022 and 2026 Bangkok governor elections, Chadchart ran as an independent candidate. In 2022, he won the gubernatorial election with over 1.3 million votes, which he has now increased to 1.5 million, the largest vote total ever received by any candidate in a Bangkok gubernatorial election.The Election Commission revealed that around 2.3 million people voted in Sunday’s polls, representing a turnout of only 49%. Although the turnout was lower than at the 2022 gubernatorial election, Chadchart increased his support by more than 150,000 votes. Speaking after the election, Chadchart thanked both those who voted for him and those who did not, noting that serving as Bangkok Governor carries huge responsibility. He pledged to work even harder in his second term because the people have high expectations of him.“Whether people chose us or not, we must not disappoint them. In the past we have tried our best and I think we have to continue to do our best as well. Thank you for all the votes. Thanks to the members of the public who came out to cast their votes. I think it is the beauty of the democratic system,” said Chadchart.He also thanked his team members for their support and teamwork, vowing that in the next four years, he will prove that Bangkok can become one of the world’s leading cities.Elections for seats on the Bangkok Metropolitan Council representing the 50 districts of Bangkok took place on the same day. The People’s Party won the most seats with 22. The Bangkok Squad team secured 11 seats, while the Democrat Party ranked third with 8 seats. The Pheu Thai Life group won four seats, independent candidates won three seats, and the Bangkok Better team secured two seats.The crushing defeat of the People's Party gubernatorial candidate was a big surprise to many observers and the general public given that the party won all 33 Bangkok constituencies in the 2026 general election. 44-year-old Chaiwat was widely regarded as Chadchart’s strongest challenger, but ultimately finished in third place.He joined the Move Forward Party in 2023 and was elected as a party-list MP. In the 2026 general election, he ran as a party-list MP candidate for the People’s Party and was elected. Chaiwat also serves as the Party’s Deputy Leader. He resigned from his MP position on 6 May to run for Bangkok governor under the slogan “Bangkok made easy”. On his Facebook page, Chaiwat conceded defeat and congratulated Chadchart on his re-election as Bangkok Governor. He thanked the public for all their support, vowing that he will continue to dedicate himself to serving the Party and the public.Phicharn Chaowapatanawong, the Party’s Secretary-General, told the media that even though the Party had received a landslide victory across all Bangkok constituencies in the 2026 general election, it did not mean the party would automatically win the gubernatorial election.He noted that the People’s Party must continue to work harder to prove itself to the public so that the people would allow the Party to govern Bangkok.
eng editor 3
Tue, 2026-06-30 - 11:10
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Bangkok Governor Election 2026
Chadchart Sittipunt
