Urban voters in capital cities are a savvy lot which will elect leaders who share their values.

CAPITAL cities love to embarrass, frustrate and at times even provoke their leaders.

Famously independent-minded, whether it’s Imperial Rome, Eli­zabethan London or Ottoman Istanbul, they’ve revelled in their ability to confound, irritate and at times even oust their so-called betters.

In the modern democratic era, things aren’t much different. Londoners today have relished the slightly crazy antics of their mayor, Boris Johnson, in part because he’s positioned himself as a clear rival to the Prime Minister, the stolid and rather pompous David Cameron.

The same is also true in South-East Asia as urban voters flex their independence.

Earlier this month, the incumbent Bangkok Governor Sukhum­bhand Paribatra (a cousin of the King) stopped Premier Yingluck Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai party from gaining control of the city despite waging a rather lacklustre campaign.

Pheu Thai lost the vote in part because it promised to bring about “seamless coordination” with the national government.

This was taken to essentially mean an end to the city’s proud and independent traditions.

Capitalising on such fears, Su­­khumbhand and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva were able to muster support and trump the challenger.

Indeed, Sukhumbhand secured a substantial margin of victory with well over 1.26 million votes, compared to the 1.08 million the former police general Pongsapat Pong­charoen obtained.

Many reasons have been proposed, including the natural affinity that Bangkok’s strong middle-class has for the Democratic Party as well as their still-fresh memories of the Pheu Thai-linked Red Shirts storming the capital.

More importantly, voters in Bangkok wanted the ruling party to face a coordinated opposition from the capital.

Frankly, ordinary Thai voters don’t like having power too centralised.

They prefer power to be divided and diffused with checks and balances at all levels.

In short, they appreciated Sukhumbhand’s robust defence of the capital city’s interests, especially since each and everyone of Thai­land’s sixty plus provinces is run by appointees from the centre.

The same sentiment was also at work last year when the now-celebrated Solo Mayor Joko Widodo (“Jokowi”) won the Jakarta gover­norship handsomely.

Bear in mind that he defeated the massive firepower deployed by incumbent Fauzi Bowo and his central government backers: the Democratic Party and its allies.

Since the patronage-style politics of the countryside can’t be duplicated so easily in the cities, voters tend to look more closely at the implementation of the government’s services as well as rhetoric and style.

They also know that they’ll get the lion’s share of development and infrastructural funds so they are unafraid of upsetting national leaders.

The latter point was one of super-humble, folksy Jokowi’s biggest strengths. City-dwellers vote for people who share their values: Jokowi did and Fauzi didn’t.

That’s also possibly why Su­­­-khum­bhand beat Pongsapat de­-­­spite lacking charisma. He was someone the people of Bangkok felt they knew and trusted.

For all his shortcomings, Su­­-khum­bhand is a good Bangkok man and voters rewarded him for it.

Voters, especially seasoned ones, want real choices. They also want checks and balances as well as fairness in the way their communities are managed.

Defying central authority isn’t uniquely Thai or Indonesian. Take for instance, the Philippines, where so-called Manila feisty residents have often challenged and at times even deposed sitting presidents.

The former president Joseph Estrada is now hoping to stand as mayor of Manila.

The one-time actor will face the two-term mayor, Alfredo Lim, a Liberal Party stalwart – Presi­­dent Benigno Aquino (or “Pnoy”) party.

Now, while Pnoy is much-loved and respected, it’s very likely that Estrada will trounce Lim, proving once again my earlier point that capital cities are here to test the patience of their national leaders, over and over again.

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