Juti Krairerk, the party’s secretary-general, and deputy leader Ongart Klampaiboon called a press conference to make the announcement. Juti said the party “can no longer continue our political affairs” with Sukhumbhand.

Legally speaking, Sukhumbhand is still a member of the party. However, the Democrats cannot convene a party meeting to officially expel him, due to a ban on political gatherings by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

The Democrat decision to part ways with the Bangkok governor came after months of a spat between Sukhumbhand and the party’s leadership. The Democrats appear to have sensed the city residents’ increasing dissatisfaction towards the BMA’s management team led by Sukhumbhand.

Many Bangkok people are unhappy with alleged irregularities involving the BMA and also his “immature” response to criticism over how the governor dealt with flooding. Sukhumbhand said Bangkok was a low-lying area prone to flooding and those who are afraid of floods should move to a mountainous area.

The Democrats certainly were well aware that their popularity in the capital would be at risk if they did not do anything about Sukhumbhand. Earlier, rumours were spread that he would be expelled from the party, and some Democrat politicians came out publicly with allegations of irregularities against the BMA.

The latest press conference by Juti and Ongart obviously was aimed at pleasing the Bangkok voters upset with Sukhumbhand and his team.

However, even though the Democrat Party could eventually convene in order to decide whether to expel Sukhumbhand, it remains unclear whether the executive committee would be able to get the majority support to achieve that goal. He still has the strong backing of former Democrat secretary general Suthep Thaugsuban, who has retained much influence in the party, despite leaving it to lead street protests against the previous government.

In fact, the Democrat Party’s parting of ways with Sukhumbhand has not caused much impact on him. The governor seems to have drifted away from the party otherwise he would have retained close communication with its executive team.

When the Democrats campaigned for Sukhumbhand in the run-up to the gubernatorial election three years ago, they told voters that the party would have its candidate deliver is policy platforms. But as it turned out, the Democrats could not keep that promise effectively when the Bangkok governor was involved.

When they became aware that his poor performance could adversely affect its support base, the Democrats simply opted to part ways with Sukhumbhand, saying they would no longer be responsible for what he did.

It seems that the Democrats are not only setting adrift the Bangkok governor, but also doing the same thing to the people who voted for him, due to the belief the party would be able to control him.

The Democrats should have tried harder to make the governor follow instructions from the party’s management in delivering their policy platforms. It was “too easy” and irresponsible to simply disown their candidate and deny responsibility for the people who voted for him. For many, a Democrat guarantee for their candidates could be viewed as meaningless and unreliable.