Governor elections 2008

The Bangkok residents voted this past Sunday for their governor. I think of it as a mayoral election since it covers just Bangkok. But all the English newspapers in the area are calling the position as "governor." The Bangkok "province" is pretty much just the city itself. The metropolitan area has spread far beyond it's official defined borders into neighbouring provinces.

The governor of Bangkok is one of the few direct vote positions of its rank across all of Thailand. A four year term, the gubernatorial term was up for elections. The time span was quick. I think the submission of candidacy and the campaigning period all lasted within a month.

The two most common modes of campaigning was the announcing trucks and the posters. Every telephone pole, electricity pole, street lamp post had posters mounted. Some even set up their own stands.

Apparently, the tv media has been a forum as well. As short and as seemingly routine as the elections were, I'll bet few were this riveting.