Political Participation in the Election of Members of the Municipal Council of the People in SiSomdet District, Roi-Et Province

Abstract

The purposes of this research were: 1) to study the level of political participation in the election of members of the municipal council in Si Somdet District; 2) to comparatively study the level of political participation in the election of members of the municipal council of the people in Si Somdet District; 3) to study suggestions to promote political participation in the election of members of the municipal council in Si Somdet District, Roi Et Province. This study was carried out by means of a mixed research method.
The sample group included 400 people in Si Somdet District and 400 people and ten key informants. The tools used to collect data were questionnaires and interviews.
The data were analyzed using a social science software package and contextual content analysis.
The research results were as follows:
1) The overall level of political participation in the election of members of the municipal council of the people in Si Somdet District, Roi Et Province, was at a high level (4.07). When considering each studied aspect, it was found that all aspects were at a high level, sorted from descending averages; the aspect with the highest mean was the conduct of election preparation (4.34), followed by the inspection of the election (4.29), the exercise of election rights (4.07) and the aspect with the lowest mean was the
election news tracking (3.70).
2) The comparative results of the level of political participation in the election of members of the municipal council of the people in Si Somdet District, Roi Et Province, it was found that people with different ages, education levels, occupations, and average monthly incomes differently participated in the municipal council elections in general at the statistical significance level of 0.05. There is no difference between those with
differences in gender and political participation in elections.
3) The suggestions to promote political participation in the election of municipal council members in Si Somdet District, Roi Et Province, are that there should be public relations or dissemination of news to encourage people to exercise their right to vote. The public should be encouraged to pay attention to news about the election of the President of the Provincial Administrative Organization through billboards and online media. The public should be encouraged to participate in the meeting to select the Election Commission. The public should be promoted and encouraged to monitor the vote counting, participate in voting inspection, and know and perform their duties
according to the regulations and laws.