Re-election bid comment was a joke: Sukhumbhand

Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said yesterday he was only joking when he announced to the US media that he would contest the next Bangkok governor election.

On Saturday, Sukhumbhand gave an interview to the US press while on an official visit to Washington DC saying that he was ready to join the Bangkok governor election as a candidate from the Democrat Party after his term in the office ends in eight months.

But yesterday, Sukhumbhand admitted he did not really intend to join the election and that what he said before he was a joke. He said if he intended to contest the election, he would make an official announcement in Bangkok.

Democrat Party spokesperson Chavanond Intarakomalyasut said the party hadn't discussed this issue yet. If the party announced it now, it would disrupt the governor's duties, he said.