The ninth

gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

for the city of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

was held on 11 January 2009. The election came about after the resignation of

Apirak Kosayothin Apirak Kosayodhin ( th, อภิรักษ์ โกษะโยธิน; , born March 30, 1961) is a former Thailand, Thai business executive and former governor of Bangkok. In the 2004 Bangkok gubernatorial election, gubernatorial elections ...

on 13 November 2008, the incumbent who was only just re-elected a little more than a month (on 5 October 2008). the resignation stemmed from an indictment by the National Counter Corruption Commission or NCCC, in which Apirak was indicted for the controversial 6.6 billion Baht fire-engine procurement contract. The former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

and former Bangkok Governor

Samak Sundaravej Samak Sundaravej ( th, สมัคร สุนทรเวช, , ; 13 June 1935 – 24 November 2009) was a Thai politician who briefly served as the Prime Minister of Thailand and Minister of Defense in 2008, as well as the leader of the Peo ...

was also found guilty in the same verdict. On 13 November Apirak announced his resignation saying: ''"Like the Democrat Party, I support a move that will perpetuate politics-for-people"'' at the same time maintaining his innocence and stating that his resignation should become an example of a change in Thai politics, his resignation triggered an automatic

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. By the end of the 11 January 2009, Sukhumband was declared the winner of the race, becoming the 15th

Governor of Bangkok The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( th, กรุงเทพมหานคร; ) (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok (also called ''Krung Thep Maha Nakhon'' in Thai), which includes the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. The governme ...

Campaign

On 1 December, the Election Commission allowed the registration of candidates. A total of 14 candidates registered. In accordance with the law, they picked numbers by which they would be assigned for the campaign. The three highest profile candidates were: MR

Sukhumbhand Paribatra Mom Rajawongse Sukhumbhand Paribatra ( th, ม.ร.ว.สุขุมพันธุ์ บริพัตร; , ; born 22 September 1953) is a Thai politician belonging to the Democrat Party. From 2009 to 2016 he was the Governor of Bangkok. ...

, ML Nattakorn Devakula and Yuranun Pamornmontri. MR

, the 56-year-old candidate of the Democrat Party, is a former

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

. MR Sukhumband vowed to carry on with policies initiated by Governor Apirak and to continue the environmentalist agenda. He ran under the slogan: "Bring back Bangkokians' smiles". ML Nattakorn Devakula, a 32-year-old Independent candidate, was a former TV host, popularly known as "Khun Pluem". He ran on the slogan: "Vote for me. Vote for the governor of the future". Yuranun Pamornmontri, the 45-year-old Puea Thai Party candidate, is a popular TV actor and film star.

Media

Election posters of the Candidates:

Results

The election and results were announced on the same day:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bangkok gubernatorial election, 2009 Bangkok gubernatorial elections Gubernatorial election,2009 2009 elections in Asia 2009 elections in Thailand 2009 in Bangkok 2009 in Thailand January 2009 events in Thailand