After years of waiting, Bangkok voters will go to the much-anticipated gubernatorial election on May 22 to pick one of 17 candidates to tackle a myriad of problems the capital has been facing.
These candidates have started banging the drums of their election campaigns, promising the moon.
Most candidates are pledging to reduce road accidents at crosswalks, increase green space, deal with local mafias and even develop a megastructure to host the Olympic games.
Many of them are banking on innovative solutions, such as using digital technology or artificial intelligence to make the capital city "smarter".
However, voters may have to keep their fingers crossed that such promises will be delivered. This local election has been touted as high-profile because Bangkok is more than just Thailand's capital -- it is the heart of the kingdom's power, finances and decision-making processes.
In a different light, the more than two-century-old capital city has been a stage mirroring inequality in the country.
Bangkok has been the place of hopes and dreams for rural villagers looking to run away from the despair in their hometowns and find a job elsewhere.
Today, the capital houses more than 10 million people despite having only 5.7 million registered residents.
Overcrowding breeds social and environmental problems, such as traffic, crime, lack of education and deteriorating living standards.
Research shows that the story of Bangkok is not the one being told in American author Edith Wharton's novel The House of Mirth.
In 2018, the Thailand Research Fund found that households in the capital had the lowest happiness score of 7.5 when compared with the South (7.8), the North (7.7) and the Northeast (7.7).
Meanwhile, Mercer in its Quality of Living City 2019 report ranked Bangkok 133rd on its list of the world's most livable cities, a drop when compared with 131st in 2018 and 115th in 2013.
In the National Statistical Office's latest survey, dwellers in Bangkok and its three adjacent provinces -- Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Samut Prakan -- had the lowest happiness score of 32.
People in the North had the highest with 34.3, followed by the South with 34.1 and the Central region with 33.5, it said.
These surveys pose bigger questions. Can fancy, modern infrastructure projects and the public services that candidates promise to implement lead to real happiness? Can the city make people happy by clearing pavements and banishing street food vendors?
Does happiness stem from more green space and manicured trees in locations expropriated from old communities?
Whether candidates keep their promises after becoming governor remains in doubt.
Bangkok is a special administrative area, governed by its own legislation.
But in reality, City Hall does not have absolute power to do anything. Megaprojects with social and environmental impacts still need to be greenlit by the Interior Ministry or even the cabinet.
Several matters in the capital are not under the jurisdiction of City Hall, including traffic police.
With that said, Bangkok does not need populist or elegant promises. A simple, straightforward and realistic policy platform is all Bangkok people are asking for.
