Published by
The Bangkok Post
The Bangkok Post
Since the 2014 coup, publicly elected local administration bodies have been weakened. The junta-appointed government made it a point to issue many laws designed to facilitate its bid to centralise power. One particularly noteworthy example came five years ago when the interior ministry tried to change the size of local government bodies and exert more control over how their budgets should be spent. And still, despite the country having had a civilian-elected government since 2019, the interior ministry under the helm of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha rarely passes up an opportunity to do the same. Its …