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Thailand LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Local government comprised both regular territorial
administrative units and self-governing bodies. Local autonomy
was limited, however, by the high degree of centralization of
power. The Ministry of Interior controlled the policy, personnel,
and finances of the local units at the provincial and district
levels. Field officials from the ministry as well as other
central ministries constituted the majority of administrators at
local levels.
In 1987 there were seventy-three provinces (changwat),
including the metropolitan area of Bangkok, which had provincial
status
(see
fig. 8). The provinces were grouped into nine regions
for administrative purposes. As of 1984 (the latest year for
which information was available in 1987), the provinces were
divided into 642 districts (amphoe), 78 subdistricts
(king amphoe), 7,236 communes (tambon), 55,746
villages (muban), 123 municipalities (tesaban), and
729 sanitation districts (sukhaphiban).
The province was under a governor (phuwarachakan), who
was assisted by one or more deputy governors, an assistant
governor, and officials from various central ministries, which,
except for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, maintained field
staffs in the provinces and districts. The governor supervised
the overall administration of the province, maintained law and
order, and coordinated the work of ministerial field staffs.
These field officials carried out the policies and programs of
their respective ministries as line administrators and also
served as technical advisers to the governor. Although these
officials were responsible to the governor in theory, in practice
they reported to their own ministries in Bangkok and maintained
communication with other province-level and district-level field
staffs.
The governor also was responsible for district and municipal
administration, presiding over a provincial council composed of
senior officials from the central ministries. The council, which
served in an advisory capacity, met once a month to transmit
central government directives to the district administrators.
Apart from the council, an elected provincial assembly exercised
limited legislative oversight over provincial affairs.
District administration was under the charge of a district
officer (nai amphor), who was appointed by the minister of
interior and reported to the provincial governor. Larger
districts could be divided into two or more subdistricts, each
under an assistant district officer. The district or the
subdistrict was usually the only point of contact between the
central authority and the populace; the central government had no
appointed civil service officials below this level.
The district officer's duties as overseer of the laws and
policies of the central government were extensive. He supervised
the collection of taxes, kept basic registers and vital
statistics, registered schoolchildren and aliens, administered
local elections at the commune and village levels, and
coordinated the activities of field officials from Bangkok.
Additionally, the district officer convened monthly meetings of
the headmen of the communes and villages to inform them of
government policies and instruct them on the implementation of
these policies. As the chief magistrate of the district, he also
was responsible for arbitration in land disputes; many villagers
referred these disputes to the district officer rather than to a
regular court.
The commune was the next level below the district. An average
of nine contiguous, natural villages were grouped into one
commune, whose residents elected a headman (kamnan) from
among the village headmen (phuyaibun) within the commune.
The commune chief was not a regular government official, but
because of his semiofficial status, he was confirmed in office by
the provincial governor. He also was entitled to wear an official
uniform and receive a monthly stipend. Assisted by a small
locally recruited staff, the kamnan recorded vital
statistics, helped the district officer collect taxes, supervised
the work of village headmen, and submitted periodic reports to
the district officer.
Below the commune level was the village government. Each
village elected a headman, who generally served as the middleman
between villagers and the district administration. The headman's
other duties included attending meetings at the district
headquarters, keeping village records, arbitrating minor civil
disputes, and serving as village peace officer. Generally the
headman served five years or longer and received a monthly
stipend. In the 1980s, the importance of a village headman seemed
to be declining as the authority of the central government
expanded steadily through the provincial and local
administrations.
Municipalities in Thailand included Bangkok, seventy-two
cities serving as provincial capitals, and some large district
towns. According to the 1980 census, municipalities had a
combined population of 7.6 million, or about 17 percent of the
national total. The municipalities consisted of communes, towns,
and cities, depending on population. Municipal residents elected
mayors and twelve to twenty-four municipal assemblymen; the
assemblymen chose two to four councillors from among their
number, who together with the mayors made up executive councils.
In theory, the municipal authorities were self-governing, but
in practice municipal government was an administrative arm of the
central and provincial authorities. The Ministry of Interior had
effective control over municipal affairs through the provincial
administration, which had the authority to dissolve municipal
assemblies and executive councils. Moreover, such key officials
as the municipal clerk and section chiefs were recruited,
assigned, and retired by the ministry, which also had the power
to control and supervise the fiscal affairs of the perennially
deficit-ridden municipalities.
Until 1985 Bangkok's governor and assemblymen were appointed
by the central government. In November of that year, however, for
the first time an election was held as part of the
constitutionally mandated effort to nurture local selfgovernment . Chamlong Srimuang, a former major general running as
an independent, won the governorship by a landslide.
At the next lower level of local government, every district
had at least one sanitation district committee, usually in the
district capital. This committee's purpose was to provide
services such as refuse collection, water and sewage facilities,
recreation, and road maintenance. The committee was run by exofficio members headed by the district officer. Like
municipalities, the sanitation districts were financially and
administratively dependent on the government, notably the
district administration.
Data as of September 1987
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