Provincial governor reshuffle

Normally the annual reshuffle of provincial governors takes place in October, and it also normally hardly makes any news at least in the English press. So it is quite extraordinary that already now the retirement of the governor of Chiang Mai was announced. The Bangkok Post wrote:

The removal of Chiang Mai governor Traisit Sinsomboonthong from his job is not related to the activities of the anti-government United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) group, acting permanent interior secretary Wichai Srikwan said on Thursday.
The transfer of Mr Traisit, who was a close associate of former house speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat, was not politically motivated at all.
[...]
However, he said the governor’s style of working may not satisfy some people, but that was not unusual. He would retire from the civil service in October.

It's the normal denial of political reasons, especially when comparing to another news sniplet from January after a UDD demonstration in Chiang Mai.

Deputy Minister of Interior believes that Chiang Mai governor and the city’s security staffs need to have their performance re-evaluated after rotten eggs were thrown at Mr. Chuan Leekpai during his visit to the province.

The only thing strange is the spelling of his name - Bangkok Post writes Traisit Sinsomboonthong, while the province website spells him วิบูลย์ สงวนพงศ์ (Wibun Sa-nguanphong).

Interesting to see if the governor of Lopburi will be the next one to get an early retirement, as The Nation reported.

Lop Buri Governor Charupong Pholdet yesterday voiced concern about his job security should he fail to keep peace during today's inspection trip to his province by the prime minister.
[...]
"Frankly I fear for getting a job transfer since I have no way to guarantee how the situation will develop," Charupong said.

And a bit surprisingly, apparently there was a reshuffle already taking place few days ago, as just today user Oatz updated 21 province governors on the English Wikipedia, including Chiang Mai. So the Interior Ministry did not wait till October, the normal time for the reshuffle.