Decentralization and Local Governance in Thailand 65

including those of the association of tambon and village headmen. Ironically, this official pressure made the headmen more aware of the importance of gaining real independence from the MOI through the introduction of elections at the TC and TAO levels.

3.4.2 Reflections

The TAO bill was finally passed on November 26, 1994. The result was not a triumph for any particular actor, but more the product of compromises among policy formulators and policy stakeholders. The MOI had perhaps gained more of its objectives than others had. The village and tambon headmen were ex o cio members of the new TAO, and provincial officials retained a supervisory role. But this victory proved to be relatively short term.

Decentralization became a national issue in Thailand in the mid 1990s. This resurgence began in the special atmosphere following the May 1992 incident when the military was forced back to barracks by a largely urban-based “democratic movement,” and subsequently academics and politicians demanded many different reforms in the Thai state. One of these demands was to make the post of provincial governor elective. National politicians took up this proposal because they could not ignore an issue that might be popular with the electorate on which they depended. But many of these politicians were reluctant to introduce dramatic change at the local level, which might actually undermine their existing electoral base among local canvassers and other influential forces. The permanent government officials of the MOI, for whom the proposal to make governors elective was a direct threat, made common ground with the national politicians to divert the demand for decentralization away from the issue of the governor toward reforms at the tambon level.

The more radical proponents of reform proposed that the new form of local government at the tambon level should be fully elective. However, this was opposed by the MOI, which hoped to maintain a supervisory role over any new local bodies, and by the village and tambon headmen, who hoped to maintain their local influence through ex o cio roles in the new local bodies. These two powerful pressure groups were able to persuade some political parties, especially the NAP, that introducing over-radical reform at the local level might damage the electoral base of their member of Parliament. As a result, the TAO law passed in 1994 severely compromised the electoral principle by giving village and tambon heads ex o cio positions, and by allocating supervisory roles to the governor and district officials.

The TAO law thus seemed to have achieved the MOI strategy of deflecting attention away from the issue of elective governors, and limiting the extent to which local self-government would challenge bureaucratic power in the provinces. But this victory was relatively short term, because the passage of the TAO act precipitated a broader trend toward democratic decentralization,37 which continued over the following decade.

3.5Impacts of the Decentralization Reform on Local Government in Thailand: Ongoing Challenges

The Chuan government (November 1997 to February 2001) established the Committee for Revision of Local Government Acts and Decentralization Promotion. The Chuan cabinet also enacted and amended implementing legislation for the realization of the local autonomy mandated

37For details of the development of decentralization in Thailand during 1994–2006, please read Achakorn (2004, 2005, 2005a, 2006, 2007).

©2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

66 Public Administration in Southeast Asia

by the new charter. Article 78 (282–290) of the 1997 Constitution requires the promotion of decentralization as a basic policy of the government, the definition of plans and procedures for decentralization in separate legislation, and the establishment of a decentralization committee. Accordingly, the Decentralization Plan and Procedures Act was enacted in November 1999. The act established a National Decentralization Committee (NDC) responsible for defining decentralization, elaborating decentralization plans and procedures, and promoting and monitoring the government’s decentralization policy.38

The Decentralization Plan and Procedure Acts of 1999, implementing legislation stemming from the 1997 Constitution, has set a new local political and administrative environment. The new strong executive system in all forms of local government, ongoing process of fiscal decentralization, unfamiliar transferred responsibilities, limited spending on personnel, and the new local personnel system have forced all local governments to adapt themselves to handle this new environment.

3.5.1 Strong Executive System

Major critical change in local administration concerns the new directly elected chief executives. Mayors and chairs of PAOs and TAOs are now directly chosen through local elections. Previously, mayors had been selected through negotiations among members of the municipal assembly, PAO Assembly, and TAO Assembly. Following are the descriptions of the current political structure of each of the five forms of local government in Thailand.

Based on the Provincial Administrative Organization Act of 1997 (subsequently amended in 1999), the PAO is divided into legislative and executive branches. Members of the PAO Assembly (4-year terms) are directly elected by local citizens.39 During the first meeting of the PAO Assembly, chair and deputy chair of the PAO Assembly will be elected (2-year terms). Chairman of the PAO is the head of the PAO executive branch and is directly elected by the local constituencies. The chairman then selects his deputy, the number based on the number of assembly members.40 Levels below includes the PAO clerk who is responsible for supervising all PAO employees within each division.

Municipal government, the oldest form of local government in Thailand, originated in 1933. There are three different types of municipal government—city level, town level, and sub-district

38The National Decentralization Committee (NDC) itself is composed of 36 members, led by the prime minister. Other members include politicians (from three parties), central (12) and local (12) government officials, and intellectuals or qualified authorities from the fields of governmental affairs, public law, economics, and local politics (12). The National Decentralization Committee has four subcommittees: (1) Strategic Planning, (2) Finance/Budget/Personnel, (3) Law and Legislation, and (4) Monitoring and Evaluation (Japan International Cooperation Agency, 2001, p. 43). The Strategic Planning subcommittee was responsible for guiding the NDC in developing the Decentralization Action Plan, finalized in November 2001; allocating functions among levels of governments; and establishing guidelines for transferring responsibilities to local governments (Thailand Ministry of Interior, 2003). The Finance/Budget/Personnel Subcommittee was responsible for providing recommendations regarding taxes and local personnel issues in accord with the Decentralization Action Plan. The Law and Legislation Subcommittee was responsible for giving recommendations regarding the revision of laws and regulations to enable the devolution and delegation of responsibilities, personnel, and financial issues to local governments. The Monitoring and Evaluation Subcommittee was responsible for assessing the progress and problems of the decentralization process (Japan International Cooperation Agency, 2001, p. 47).

39Population less than 500,000 → 24 members; between 500,000 and 1,000,000 → 30 members; between 1,000,000 and 1,500,000 → 36 members; between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000 → 42 members; more than 2,000,000 → 48 members.

40Assembly with 48 members → chairman selects four deputy chairmen; 36–42 members → chairman selects three deputies; 24–30 members → chairman selects two deputies.

©2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC