<div> <div>According to a Deputy Prime Minister, the ruling junta is preparing to restore local elections, on condition that candidates do not criticise the junta in their campaigns</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 14 November 2017, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam stated that the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is considering local elections in some areas. </div></div>

<div>The latest order by the junta replaces elected local councillors with appointed government officials and gives the junta head the power to directly dismiss ‘corrupt’ councillors. This will allow the junta to take total control of local administrative organizations across the country within four years. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Thursday, 5 May 2016, the Royal Gazette <a href="http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2559/E/102/13.PDF">published</a> NCPO Order No. 22/2016 on the selection of local administration councillor. </div>

<p><a href="http://en.khaosod.co.th/detail.php?newsid=1405599501&amp;typecate=06&amp;section=">Khaosod English</a>: Thailand’s military regime has suspended local elections and announced plans to replace elected officials with bureaucrats in a move that further centralises its power over the country's provinces.</p> <p></p>