Registration for gubernatorial candidacy set on Jan 21-25

BANGKOK, January 10 (TNA) - The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has set January 21-25 for its registration of the gubernatorial candidacy and March 3 for the new gubernatorial election. Permanent Secretary for BMA Ninnart Chalitanon told journalists of the schedules on Thursday, saying that the Election Commission of Thailand (EC) is expected to officially approve the schedules, proposed by the BMA, by January 11. Ninnart also called a meeting with chiefs of all 50 districts in Bangkok to brief them on procedures of the upcoming gubernatorial election and to order all officials concerned to be neutral, study relevant laws and mainly rely on electoral laws. According to the City Clerk, there are more than four million eligible voters in the March 3 gubernatorial election and the BMA will prepare a total of 6,548 polling stations for them. The first four-year term of M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra as the latest Bangkok Governor ends on January 10, 2012, but he resigned one day before the expiry of his tenure. (TNA)