Why elected provincial governors would be a mistake

Tim Meisburger is unwise to suggest to the National Reform Commission (NRC) that provincial governors should be elected.

Speaking as a former high-ranking official who began his career as a deputy district officer and has 37 years’ experience at the Interior Ministry, I think such a move would be a big mistake. 

First, we don’t follow the American system of administration but the British system, where local administrations are municipalities and the heads of these bodies are mayors. These agencies are supposed to serve the local people in the areas where they are elected. 

Conversely, provincial governors are representatives of the central government – overseeing the work of each ministry in the provinces, or acting as liaisons between them. It was wrong of some previous governments to use the provincial governors as their CEOs. 

Second, if provincial governors were elected, the central government would most likely pay more attention to provinces whose governors come from their own party – probably at the expense of all the others.  

Third, what if these provincial governors have different policies or conflicts of interest with each other? 

Fourth, vote-buying in provincial elections would inevitably see only the influential rich succeed. These people would do all they could to get back the money they “invest”. Unfortunately there is no end in sight to this national cancer. 

In the past, before the politicians took control of the administration of the country, corrupt government officers were happy with gifts or an “envelope”. However, in my personal experience, politicians demand between 40 and 60 per cent of the total cost of a project (some demand even more). With a flawed electoral system in place, more taxpayers’ money would be wasted on political canvassers and “incentives” for those complicit in the process.   

Last, and importantly, the Interior Ministry has tough rules on appointing provincial governors, who are selected – not elected – according to their successful progression through different levels of seniority, length of service, merit and ability. In this way, provincial governors are chosen from deputy governors, deputy governors from assistant governors, and so on. 

At each step, candidates are rigorously screened by selection committees. This process ensures that an unqualified person can’t “jump the queue” through corrupt practices, and that all provincial governors are fully capable of carrying out their duties. 

The pros and cons of “elected” and “selected” in this case should be abundantly clear to all.

Dusit Thammaraks