Landslide expectations vs reality: Scoring Bangkok’s ‘strongest’ governor

Life in Bangkok has undoubtedly changed under Governor Chadchart Sittipunt’s guidance, driven by innovations like the highly responsive complaints platform, Traffy Fondue. However, as his term nears its end on May 21, a critical question looms: Has Chadchart lived up to the high expectations of voters who handed him a landslide victory in 2022?

The answer will lie in the results of the June 28 gubernatorial election. Chadchart is expected to announce his campaign for re-election in the coming days, shifting the spotlight onto his administration’s performance over the past four years.

Mixed reviews

In a NIDA Poll of 2,000 Bangkokians conducted late last year, 78.40% said they were “satisfied” with Chadchart’s overall governorship. Respondents rated his performance as “quite good” to “very good” on specific issues such as regulating street stalls, expanding green areas, and general city cleanliness.

However, he scored lower on “bread-and-butter” issues like systemic corruption, persistent flooding, and traffic congestion.

Last week, Chadchart offered a humble self-assessment, giving himself a mere 5 out of 10 as governor. His deputy, Tavida Kamolvej, rated the Bangkok administration one notch higher at 6 out of 10.

“Chadchart’s performance may not be impressive across the board, but most Bangkokians feel their city is improving,” one city voter commented.

“The governor has shown he cares for the public’s welfare by providing updates on weather and floods, among other things. Of course, the city still gets flooded, but at least the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration [BMA] announces when the streets are expected to dry.”

She noted that Chadchart’s BMA has introduced public “clean-air rooms” for vulnerable groups when air pollution spikes.

However, she pointed out that Bangkokians were still struggling with gaps in essential public services like healthcare and transportation. Referral for free medical treatment remains a complicated process, while connections at key transport hubs are rarely seamless.

And despite having finally settled City Hall’s longstanding debt with the BTS operator, Chadchart has yet to honour his campaign promise to lower Skytrain fares to a flat rate of 20 baht.

Digital success

By contrast, the Traffy Fondue platform – launched immediately after Chadchart took office – has been a resounding success, resolving over one million complaints ranging from garbage overflows and flooding to potholes and power outages.

“That’s 81% of total complaints,” the governor declared proudly. “Of the remainder, about 7% are being worked on, while another 7% have been forwarded to relevant authorities.”

The remaining 751 complaints have been accepted and will be processed, he promised.

“The huge number of complaints is not a sign of failure, but a sign that people trust us to do better,” Chadchart said, adding that the platform had given residents a direct role in managing their city. Previously, complaints to the BMA had to pass through a long chain of command before finally being tackled on the ground.

“With Traffy Fondue, all units compete to serve residents directly,” Chadchart said. The platform also allows residents to monitor complaint status in real time.

This digital bridge between City Hall and residents has won a thumbs-up from academics like Thamrongsak Petchlertanan, a political science lecturer at Rangsit University.

“Thanks to Traffy Fondue, BMA departments can step up and take credit for their work, instead of always being hit with criticism,” he said.

As well as digital tools, the BMA has also been busy with physical maintenance over the past four years. It has dredged more than 3,000 kilometres of drainage pipes and upgraded 1,100km of city footpaths. The administration has also established more than 400 public parks and green “pockets”, providing much-needed recreational and exercise space.

Not chasing impossible dreams

Olarn Thinbangtieo, who teaches political science and law at Burapha University, said Bangkok’s biggest problems – including traffic congestion, flooding, and social deprivation – were too tough for the city administration to resolve alone.

“Although Bangkok is the capital and a special administration zone, the BMA’s jurisdiction is still limited by law and bureaucracy,” he said.

As such, he added, Chadchart had been pragmatic in focusing on “small projects”, rather than “chasing impossible dreams”.

“I think Bangkok has become more liveable under Chadchart,” he said, highlighting the extra parks, public safety improvements, environmental policies, and human resource development.

Regarding longstanding problems like flooding and traffic jams, he said the governor had adjusted water management to ensure floods drain faster and used road-widening and traffic light management to ease transport congestion.

However, Olarn sees room for improvement, urging the BMA to pursue “horizontal management” by expanding control of the city to Bangkok universities, civil society and other sectors.

“Each district should be encouraged to develop its own identity by allowing locals to design neighbourhood projects,” he said. “Collective, participatory management is better than having Chadchart as the sole hero.”

The path forward

Health and environment academic Sonthi Kotchawat said the governor should have done more to address Bangkok’s pollution problem, especially the impact of PM2.5 smog on public health.

“I know the governor does not hold absolute power to tackle this threat, but he certainly has jurisdiction under the Public Health Act to declare smog-control zones to combat sources like open fires, and polluting factories and vehicles,” he said. The act carries a punishment of up to three months in jail and/or a fine of 25,000 baht.

People’s Party MP for Bangkok Nuttapong Premphunsawad said Chadchart had also failed to combat the stink infiltrating the surrounding area from the Onnut garbage incinerator.

“This problem persists even though he has known about it for years,” the opposition MP said, adding that the foul air is impacting residents’ health and environment. Chadchart says that efforts to address the problem are restricted by contractual limitations.

The People’s Party is campaigning to unseat Chadchart in the upcoming election.

What’s in the future

Chadchart recently joined hands with the Work Work Work network to gather residents’ opinions on shaping the city’s future.

“We have used these opinions to create 300 policies for a better Bangkok,” he said.