Democrats Rally 37 Councilors Behind Naehs Bhattaraphon for Bangkok Assembly Speaker
Democrats secured 37 Bangkok assembly members behind Naehs Bhattaraphon for speaker, pledging transparent governance and public budget oversight.
At 11:30 a.m. on July 3, 2025, at the New Future Building, Democratic Party candidate Chaiyavat Saphawravichit announced the consolidation of 37 Bangkok Metropolitan Assembly (BMA) members in support of Naehs Bhattaraphon as assembly president. The coalition includes Democratic Party councilors, independent councilors, and members of the Better Bangkok group.
Chaiyavat stated that the group had previously secured 26 votes of support—more than half of the assembly—from Democratic Party and independent councilors. Today's announcement added 11 more supporters from working groups, bringing the total to 37 votes.
"The Democratic Party welcomes further cooperation from other councilor groups," Chaiyavat said. "Our coalition of 37 members is committed to dedicating full effort to Bangkok residents and elevating the assembly to serve the people effectively."
Chaiyavat emphasized the group's openness to additional support from other political factions to improve the assembly's efficiency, transparency, and responsiveness to Bangkok residents.
Netipoom Mungrujiralai, a Bueng Kum district councilor, outlined the coalition's agenda: implementing transparent assembly procedures with live-streamed meetings, public voting records, and open attendance logs. The group also plans to propose Bangkok's Transparent Budget Ordinance, which would require the city to disclose budget details, projects, and procurement records in machine-readable formats accessible to the public.
"We aim to enable residents to participate in budget oversight and prevent unnecessarily expensive procurement," Netipoom said. The transparency framework will cover the entire budget cycle, from preparation through contract management.
