BANGKOK — Chadchart Sittipunt won re-election as governor of Bangkok on June 28, 2026. He received 1.44 million votes, accounting for 68 percent of the total with 95 percent of votes counted.

Sittipunt's vote total set a new record for a winning Bangkok gubernatorial candidate, surpassing his previous record of 1.39 million votes set in 2022. He will serve another four-year term as governor, pending official confirmation from the Election Commission. Just under half of the 4.4 million eligible voters participated in the election.

Other candidates included Mallika Boonmeetrakul Mahasuk, who received 288,000 votes, representing 13 percent of the total. Chaiwat Sathawornwichit of the People's Party received 177,000 votes, and Democrat candidate Anucha Burapachaisri received 102,000 votes.

Prior to the election, a public opinion poll conducted in 2025 indicated that 48 percent of respondents intended to vote for Sittipunt in the gubernatorial election. The same 2025 poll also found that 74 percent of respondents expressed satisfaction with Sittipunt's performance.

Sittipunt, an engineer, previously served as transport minister in the Pheu Thai party-led government, which was ousted by a military coup in 2014. He has introduced an AI-enabled application named Traffy Fondue for reporting urban infrastructure issues. As of May 2026, Traffy Fondue had received over 1.37 million reports and claimed to have resolved 77 percent of them.

Political commentator Voranai Vanijaka stated, "What he's done better than most politicians lies in his relatability." Vanijaka added that Sittipunt has made the office more accessible, stating, "Chadchart has made the office more accessible; we can find him anywhere, even running in the park."

Political analyst Ken Lohatepanont stated that Sittipunt faced a lesser-known field of candidates in 2026 compared to 2022. Lohatepanont also noted that Bangkok voters have a historical tendency to prioritize personality over party in gubernatorial elections. The People's Party won every parliamentary seat in Bangkok in the national election in February 2026, though the party received no more than 8 percent of the votes in the June 28, 2026 Bangkok gubernatorial election.

Sittipunt addressed his future role, stating, "The goal of work in the next four years is not the publication of achievements but success in proving to people that their lives will be noticeably better." Sittipunt also told reporters on election day that he had no interest in becoming prime minister.

Why It Matters

Bangkok is the only province in Thailand where the governor is elected by popular vote rather than appointed by the Ministry of Interior. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration was established in 1975, creating the elected governor role with a four-year term. Chadchart Sittipunt's re-election with a record number of votes indicates continued voter support for his leadership.