Political Dynamics of Local Politics and the Attitudes of the Public towards the Election of Local Administrative Organization Administrators: A Case Study of Thung Luang Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Lamae District, Chumphon Province

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) study the attitude level of the public towards the election of local government administrators, 2) compare the attitude of the public towards the election of local government administrators classified by personal factors, and 3) analyze the relationship between local political dynamics and the attitude of the public towards the election of local government administrators. The case study is Thung Luang Sub district Administrative Organization, Lamae District, Chumphon province. A mixed-method research was used. Quantitative research was used to collect data using a questionnaire with 400 people in Thung Luang Sub district. The statistics used for data analysis were frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, and one-way analysis of variance. Qualitative research used in-depth interviews to collect data from the village headman/leader of Thung Luang Sub district, local scholars, local media, secretary of Thung Luang Sub district Administrative Organization, representatives of Thung Luang Sub district Administrative Organization personnel and candidates for the election of Thung Luang Sub district Administrative Organization mayor, and 10 political and government scholars. Data were analyzed using content analysis and then drawn conclusions.

The finding of this research found that 1) the public’s attitude towards the election of the administrators of Thung Luang Sub district Administrative Organization was at a high level overall, ranked from highest to lowest as follows: Candidate’s qualifications, Policy presentation, Election campaign, Work ideology, and Personal relationship with the candidate. 2) The results of comparing the public’s attitude towards the election of administrators of Thung Luang Sub district Administrative Organization classified by personal factors found that gender, age, occupation, and residential village were different, resulting in the public having different attitudes with statistical significance at the .05 level. 3) The relationship between local political dynamics and public attitudes showed that most of the public elected new administrators because of the candidates’ qualifications, knowledge, abilities, and policies that could respond to the needs of the people in the area.