Bangkok MPs of the ruling People Power party (PPP) have called on the party to keep faith in Prapat Chongsanguan as they believe he would be in a better position this time to win the Bangkok governor election race.
Prapat finished a distant second behind Apirak Kosayodhin, who resigned just weeks after securing his second term in the Oct 5 poll to fight corruption charges.
City Hall will begin accepting applications of candidates for the race on Nov 28.
The former governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) gained around 550,000 votes in the October contest.
"There are other nominees, but we are not considering them," said Suwat Wannasirikul, who heads a group of nine PPP MPs for Bangkok. The group agreed that Mr Prapat is the most appropriate person as he is respected for his honesty and transparency.
The group is undeterred by the result of the previous election in which Bangkok governor Apirak gained a sweeping victory with nearly one million votes.
Mr Apirak's resignation, which will take effect tomorrow, followed the National Anti-Corruption Commission's ruling that he violated a law by opening a letter of credit for the city's 6.8-billion baht purchase of fire trucks and boats, which were overpriced.
But Mr Prapat is still undecided whether he should compete in the election or return to his former post at the MRTA.
Mr Suwat said he is expected to give them an answer on Thursday.
Meanwhile, deputy city clerk Ratapon Mitanatawon said the registration of candidates would be done at the City Hall from Nov 28 to Dec 4.
The election date has yet to be fixed by the Election Commission.
City officials will need to spend more on promoting the election to encourage a heavy voter turnout because the new election is expected to draw less interest, Mr Ratapon said.
City Hall used 30 million baht to promote the last election. Still, only 2.2 million of the eligible voters, or 54.18%, cast their ballots.
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