After a six-year wait, the Election Commission (EC) has officially set December 20th for the elections of chairmen and members of provincial administration organisations (PAO) in 76 provinces nationwide outside Bangkok.
EC secretary-general Jarungvith Phumma on Monday sent a letter to directors of the provincial election committees in 76 provinces to inform them of the date so that they can be fully prepared.
According to the timeline set by the EC, candidate applications will be accepted from November 2-6 and the full lists of applicants announced on November 13th.
The lists of candidates who are qualified to run in the elections and the polling stations in each province will be announced on November 24th. The elections themselves will be held on December 20th.
All types of local elections have been suspended since the now-defunct National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) toppled the Pheu Thai-led government of Yingluck Shinawatra on May 22, 2014.
After six years of the suspension, the government under Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has decided to resume holding local elections, beginning with the PAOs. Other types of local elections — the tambon administration organisations (TAOs), municipalities and special administration areas (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Pattaya City) will gradually follow.
