A former deputy commissioner general of the Thai police who is running for the governor of Bangkok election on 3 March has released a video appealing to gay and trans voters.

‘Our modern world increasingly accepts varied genders,’ says Pongsapat Pongcharoen in the video, Global Post reports.

‘Bangkok must be a city that understands sexual differences, not just accepting different lifestyles… it must be a friend to every difference.’

The video features images of same-sex and opposite sex couples and transgender women, presenting a vision of an equal and sexuality and gender diverse Bangkok.

But the Global Post quotes a transgender woman who says that although she ‘enjoys[s] seeing something like this’ she ‘would love to see concrete policy to make BKK (Bangkok) a friendly city for LGBT’.

Kath Khangpiboon from Thai Transgender Alliance sees the advert as a positive development.

‘This is the first ad for LGBT people and that means the politician is interest in LGBT issues,’ Khangpiboon told Gay Star News.

‘The ad shows the real life of trans people in Bangkok, where many trans people live.’

US-educated Pongsapat is currently ahead in the polls, with 46.6% of the vote to incumbent governor MR Sukhumbhand’s 29.9% according to an ABAC poll, Bangkok Post reports.

Watch the video here: