Bangkok - Residents of Thailand's capital Bangkok went to the polls Sunday to elect a new governor after an eventful gubernatorial race that included one death by drowning and a punch-up between a candidate and a popular television anchor.

According to opinion polls, the front-runner in Sunday's election was Apirak Kosayodhin, the incumbent governor who is seeking a second term.

Election results will be known by midnight Sunday.

Given his not so-brilliant accomplishments as Bangkok governor for the past four years, Apirak's appeal appears to rest on his good looks, relatively corruption-free reputation and the fact that he is a deputy leader of the opposition Democrat Party, which is popular in the capital.

A shadow hanging over Apirak's candidacy is a complaint lodged with the Election Commission that he abused his powers as incumbent governor to advertise his limited accomplishments on city billboards, prior to the polls.

If found guilty of violating election laws, a new gubernatorial poll must be held - presuming Apriak wins - and he would be required to pay a fine of 158 million baht (4.6 million dollars) to finance it.

One of the most colourful contenders in this gubernatorial race was Chuwit Kamolvisit, a former massage parlour tycoon, who grabbed headlines on Thursday when he assaulted TV anchor Visarn Dilokwanit for allegedly insulting him by asking probing questions about his campaign policies during a televised interview.

"He talked to me without giving me any respect," Chuwit told a press conference after he had punched and trampled Visarn. "A man like me can be killed, but can't be insulted."

Remarkably, Chuwit is quite popular among a certain element of Bangkok society.

"I will vote for him despite his row with Visarn," said one vendor of pirated DVDs on Silom Road, who asked to remain anonymous.

Asked if he liked Chuwit because of his past vocation as an owner of six massage-parlours-cum-brothels, the vendor acknowledged, "Maybe. I do like to visit massage parlours occasionally."

Other leading contenders include Kriangsak Charonwongsak, an economist, Prapat Chingsanguan, a member of the ruling People Power Party, and Leena Janjanja, a woman who claimed the distinction of being the first gubernatorial candidate to suffer a campaign casualty in Thai political history.

During a publicity stunt on September 25 to advertise her intention to clean up Bangkok's notoriously polluted canals, her campaign leader Teerasak Sitanont jumped in to the dirty waters with Leena and disappeared in the hubbub.

Police later retrieved his body from the canal and pronounced him a victim of drowning. (dpa)