Local administration organisations yesterday called on the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to revoke its order suspending local elections, saying the appointees were not up to the job.
Calls to scrap the NCPO's 85th announcement on elections came at a seminar on the role of municipal and national reforms, organised by the National Municipal League of Thailand (NMT).
The participants, ranging from local administrators to academics advocating decentralisation of power, said appointed members of local bodies did not answer to public needs.
The NCPO's 85th announcement says local body seats vacated by elected officials with expired terms are to be filled by bureaucrats through a selection process, not elections.
They also expressed concerns that national reforms would usher in a return to centralised power. Some reform proposals called for the selection of the local administrators and term limits.
In response to the call, NCPO spokesman Withai Suvaree said yesterday a new government would look into the problem concerning the appointed local administrators. Changes would be made to ensure more transparency and efficiency.
The suspension of local elections, however, is likely to stay until a new charter is established, he said.
Prawase Wasi, the seminar's keynote speaker, stressed the importance of local elections and called on local administrators to form an assembly to push for reforms.
"Decentralisation of power has begun and can't be reversed. The NCPO's suspension is out of concerns about the influence of national politicians in local administrations," he said.
"Eventually the NCPO will have to return the elections to local bodies, who must show that their elections are fair and transparent."
Dr Prawase said concentrated power has weakened society and the bureaucratic system, triggering corruption and power struggles.
He said a new assembly would suggest reforms related to local development to the National Reform Council (NRC).
He also stressed the need for legislation that will free up powers from the government. A new law could draw a line between responsibility at local and national level.
Dr Prawase said education management should be among the core duties of local administration organisations.
On the suspended elections, he said the NMT should hold talks with the NCPO about the issue and work out ways to ensure elections would not undermine the military regime's efforts to resolve conflicts.
Kriangkrai Phumlaochaeng, president of the NMT, repeated the call for the NCPO to revoke the suspension of elections, saying there was no need to wait for the completion of the reform process.
"Don't see elections in a negative light," he said.
"The appointees are causing problems. The public can't get to these bureaucrats to make complaints. I am urging the NCPO to return elections if it agrees with me, without waiting for a new charter."
Mr Kriangkrai also lamented a cut in funding for local administration organisations in next year's budget.
The budget drops from 60 billion baht to 37 billion baht.
"With this amount of money, it is better to dissolve the local bodies before they go bankrupt," he said.
Meanwhile, Wutthisarn Tanchai, deputy secretary-general of the King Prachadipok Institute, citing research findings by the institute, said the public has been more open to local organisations and their role in public administration.
