The National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) voted Monday to push ahead with a proposal seeking to limit the term of kamnan and village headman to five years instead of until the mandatory retirement age.
The move came amid strong opposition from local leaders nationwide.
Seen as a potential hot potato for the government, the proposal, which seeks to amend the current Local Administration Act, will be forwarded to the cabinet for consideration.
The assembly voted 91:27 in favour of the proposal with 32 abstentions.
Under the proposal, which deals with sections 14, 30 and 31 of the law, kamnan, or tambon chiefs, and village headman will be elected every five years by eligible voters.
The village heads elected as a tambon chief would not have to leave office, but they would not get paid for their role as village head.
They would also be evaluated every three years instead of five years.
The current law says tambon chiefs are allowed to remain in office until mandatory retirement at 60 years of age.
As NRSA members met to discuss the proposal drawn up by the NRSA's political reform committee, the association of tambon and village heads of Thailand turned up to submit a petition to oppose the changes to NRSA president Thinnaphan Nakata. Their peers in the provinces lodged a similar petition.
In the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, about 300 tambon and village chiefs gathered in front of the provincial hall to oppose the NRSA's proposed amendments. A petition was also submitted to the Interior Ministry through the provincial governor.
Most NRSA members who disagreed with the proposal are former provincial governors. They said the five-year term would be too short, and they pointed out that holding elections every five years would be a financial burden on the state.
In defending the proposal, Seree Suwanpanont, chairman of the NRSA's political reform committee, called on NRSA members to embrace the changes.
He argued that the change to their terms would give kamnans an incentive to do a better job and make them less inclined to abuse their power.
"Tambon chiefs are elected by village heads, leaving ordinary people out of the process. Moreover, some locals reject the tambon chiefs chosen as they are known to sometimes make promises in exchange for being elected."
"So it will be appropriate to seek changes to the election process of tambon chiefs and their terms," he said.
NRSA member Witthaya Kaewparadai, who floated the five-year term idea, urged other members to make a bold decision to initiate political reforms at local level.
"This approach is a compromise. If a kamnan does his work properly, he will be re-elected," he said.
He said it would also help address the problem of 'reciprocity' in which candidates make wild promises in return for being elected.
Amnuay Khlangpha, former Pheu Thai MP for Lop Buri, voiced opposition Monday to the NRSA proposal, saying a kamnan's job is different to a local politician's.
According to Mr Amnuay, tambon chiefs are part of the regional administration system and they assist local authorities such as district chiefs.
The proposed change would turn them into local political office holders who would be more concerned about popularity than policy implementation, said the Pheu Thai politician.
"As elected office holders, they won't dare to perform because it could affect their chances in the next elections.
"It's better to let them work until 60 to implement government policy without any concerns about a vote," he said.
Yongyos Kaewkhiew, the association's chairman, said the proposal would cause divisiveness and undermine the performances of tambon and village chiefs.
If a kamnan's term is limited to only five years, his or her work would lack continuity and people would be divided and would no longer respect them, he said.
Mr Yongyos said that throughout the 127-year history of the association, none of the past governments has proposed a piece of legislation such as this one.
He denied as totally untrue a suggestion that if a kamnan was allowed to be in the position until 60 he or she would build influence and become a support base for a political party.
On the proposed work evaluation on village chiefs once every three years, Mr Yongyos said that in fact all village chiefs are already evaluated by the Provincial Administration Department every four years.
Moreover, Section 14 of the Local Administration Act allows for a village chief to be removed very easily if he or she underperforms.
Mr Yongyos said the tambon and village heads will insist on opposing the NRSA's proposal.
However, they would not resort to holding a major rally because doing so would be a lack of discipline.