Bangkok’s ‘Hulk’ governor wins 4 more years to fix Thai capital’s woes

Chadchart Sittipunt cruised back into Bangkok’s governor’s office late on Sunday after residents overwhelmingly backed him for a second term running the Southeast Asian megacity, despite its unresolved problems of floods, traffic and pollution.

In an election contest that had become a procession by late Sunday, exit polls put Chadchart on between 53 and 75 per cent of the vote, as early live counts in district after district showed the former transport minister with virtually unassailable leads over his rivals – albeit with a long night ahead for the tally to be made official.

While the full count continued late into Sunday, rival candidates conceded the election and congratulated Chadchart on his second city poll landslide.

Ever present during Bangkok’s darkest moments – deadly earthquakes, bus crashes and floods – Chadchart, who stood again on Sunday without a party affiliation, has helped shape a more open, greener and more accountable city during his first term, despite the daily miseries of congestion and floods that continue to slow life in a capital officially home to 5.5 million people to a crawl.

“What he’s done better than most politicians lies in his relatability,” Voranai Vanijaka, a prominent political commentator, told This Week in Asia. “Chadchart has made the office more accessible; we can find him anywhere, even running in the park.”