The Political Party and Local Politics: Preliminary Findings in a Case Study of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and Provincial Administrative Organisations (PAOs)

Abstract

This paper analyses the changes in the role of the political party in the selecting and nominating of candidates for the Governor of Bangkok and the Chief Executive of the Chiang Mai Provincial Administrative Organisation. The study reveals that since the first direct elections in 1975, national parties have played a significant role in determining the governorship of the BMA. During this period, the national parties paid little or no attention to the nomination of candidates in local provincial elections. It is the recent changes in the political and administrative structure of PAOs that has shifted the attention of the national parties to local-level politics in the provinces. However, the roles of the national parties in nominating candidates are unclear and ambiguous, with little criticism being directed towards factions and the nominee’s background that create a divergent pattern of candidate selection from that of the BMA. Importantly, the coming local elections may call for a reappraisal of the arguments previously put forward about candidate selection at the local level.