Organizer: Thailand Studies Programme, ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute
Type/Location: Virtual
Description:
On February 1st, 2025, Thailand will hold local elections in 76 provinces for its Provincial Administrative Organisations (PAOs). Voters will elect the council members of these bodies, which oversee local governance at the provincial level and wield budgetary and administrative powers in areas such as public health, sanitation, electricity, and infrastructure. In 47 provinces, voters will also choose new PAO chief executives—posts that have served as the backbone of electoral mobilization and vote-canvassing networks for candidates and political parties contesting parliamentary elections.
Drawing on fieldwork observations, this webinar will explore what these contests reveal about local electoral dynamics in Thailand. Key questions include whether they remain dominated by political dynasties, money politics, and local networks, and to what extent party labels and national political personalities have disrupted what have traditionally been locally driven competitions. The discussion will also address the significance of these results for national politics, offering insights into emerging trends ahead of the next general election scheduled for 2027.
About the Speakers:
Suthikarn Meechan is an Associate Professor at the College of Politics and Governance, Mahasarakham University in Thailand, and a non-resident research fellow at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs, Christchurch, New Zealand. Her research focuses on local politics, elections, and political transformation in Thailand and politics in the Lao PDR.
Viengrat Nethipo is an Associate Professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University. She studied at the Graduate School of Law, Kyoto University, and later received her PhD from ASAFAS, Kyoto University. Her research focuses on Thai politics, particularly local politics, decentralization, and clientelism. She has published three books, including Who the Clientelism Hold up for? Thai Elections and Backward Democracy (Matichon, 2022) in Thai.
Registration Link:
To attend the event online, please register here.