Sunday 28 June 2026

Good morning Bangkok. Happy Sunday. Today is election day.

🌡️ Weather: 28-37°C (82-99°F). Hot and humid. Scattered showers from mid-afternoon. If you are heading to vote, morning is the cooler window.

🌫️ AQI: 66-100 (Good to Moderate). Clean air across much of the city. A good day to be outside, especially this morning.

Approximately 4.5 million eligible voters across Bangkok's 50 districts are choosing a new governor and 50 Bangkok Metropolitan Council seats today. 18 candidates are running for governor and 258 for council. The final NIDA Poll placed Chadchart Sittipunt at 72.35%, up from 67.30% in the previous survey. Chaiwat Sathawornwichit of the People's Party sat at 8.80%, with independent candidate Mallika Boonmeetrakul Mahasuk at 9.60%. The BMA has set a voter turnout target of over 70%, up from at least 60% in 2022. As polling day nears, the percentage of voters who have not made up their minds vastly dropped to 2.70% from 10.20%. An alcohol ban is in effect until midnight tonight.

For expats who cannot vote, the result still matters. Bangkok governor elections do not align with national political trends. Voters in the capital make layered choices: they support ideological transformation at the national level but prioritize managerial competence in local government. The governor controls roads, waste collection, flooding response, public parks, bus stops, footpaths, hawker centers, street lighting, city permits and the thousands of small operational decisions that determine whether the city works on any given day. Chadchart's first term produced the Lumphini Hawker Centre, the 1,100 bus stop upgrades with digital screens, the ฿45 rail fare cap now heading to implementation, and the UNDP Gold Gender Equality certification. At the final debate, he pledged to expand gold card healthcare access to 1.3 million people, tackle 200 flood-risk spots and expand Bangkok's CCTV network to 300,000 cameras.

Bottom Line: Results are expected by late this evening. We will cover the outcome in tomorrow's issue. For Thai citizens registered in Bangkok: polls close at 5PM. Go vote. For everyone else: the person who wins today determines the quality of the city you wake up in tomorrow morning.

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The debate was held on June 22 at Interlink Tower in Bang Na, organized by Nation TV, King Prajadhipok's Institute and network partners. Four of the 18 candidates appeared on stage. Chadchart said the next four years would be a crucial period for Bangkok, as the city faces major changes driven by technology and climate change. His platform covers healthcare expansion, flood infrastructure, CCTV and administrative efficiency. He launched his campaign with more than 250 policies under the slogan "a city of opportunity and hope for everyone."

Chaiwat (People's Party) said June 28 would be "an opportunity for every Bangkok resident to choose change and move away from the same old problems towards a city that takes better care of everyone." His platform covers family welfare, small businesses, transport links and public services. Anucha (Democrat) proposed bringing BMTA bus services under BMA supervision and presented five policy areas: transport, cleanliness, quality of life, economic strength and zero corruption. Mallika proposed using AI Traffic for CCTV and AI radar for flood prevention, campaigning under the theme "Human Innovation."

Bottom Line: The policies are on the table. The polls suggest a clear outcome. But polls are not votes, and the council composition, which determines whether the governor can actually implement their agenda, is the race that remains genuinely competitive. Watch the council results as closely as the governor result tonight.

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A little something different today. No restaurant, no bar, no ฿2,000 tasting menu. Just a park. There is a nearly five-acre public park sitting directly between Emporium and BTS Phrom Phong, and on a Sunday morning when the city is quiet because everyone is either voting or recovering from the election-eve alcohol cutoff, it is one of the most peaceful places in central Bangkok. Benchasiri Park has a jogging track (roughly half a mile per loop over flat asphalt, about 820 yards), outdoor gym equipment, basketball courts, a skateboard ramp, a lake with landscaped grounds and shaded benches scattered throughout. Modern sculptures dot the pathways, giving it a gallery-meets-park quality that most Bangkok green spaces do not have.

The whole space covers about 4.75 acres, which for context is roughly the size of three and a half American football fields dropped into the middle of the Sukhumvit concrete corridor. The 4.5-star rating across 6,711 Google reviews reflects a park that serves everyone: morning runners, weekend families, remote workers on benches with laptops, and anyone who needs 30 minutes of trees and silence between the shopping malls and the BTS. "Beautiful park right on the Sukhumvit Road, next to malls and BTS," one reviewer wrote. "This is our local park for our regular morning runs when we visit Bangkok," wrote another. It is free, it opens at 4:30AM, and on a morning when the air quality is the best it has been all week, two or three laps around the lake before the city wakes up is the best use of the first hour of your Sunday.

TIP: Go at 5AM for the quietest experience and the best air or in the evening if the air quality is good. The jogging loop is roughly half a mile, flat asphalt, easy to repeat. The outdoor gym equipment near the basketball courts is free to use. Address: Sukhumvit Road, Khlong Tan, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110. BTS: Phrom Phong, directly adjacent. Phone: 02 262 0810. Hours: Daily from 4:30AM. Free. Rating: 4.5 stars, 6,711 Google reviews.

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Have a lovely Sunday, and see you tomorrow morning.

— Patrick