There may not be enough time to finish restructuring the local administrative organisations (LAOs) before the general election, tentatively expected towards the end of the year, said Constitution Drafting Committee spokesman Chartchai Na Chiang Mai
Mr Chartchai said yesterday the restructuring of the LAOs takes a lot of time, including transferring certain assets from one LAO to another.
In principle, he said, the restructuring may not be completed before the elections of the LAOs can proceed.
However, in practice, the asset transfer and other restructuring operations can begin before and carry on after the general election, the CDC spokesman added.
Mr Chartchai said in his view the restructuring was intended to usher in reforms of the LAOs. However, the work needs plenty of time as it also requires sounding out people's opinions via public hearings under Section 77 of the constitution.
Department of Local Administration (DLA) chief Suttipong Juljarern said last month the elections of the LAOs are likely to be held separately at different times before the general election.
One of the results of the elections is that the number of local bodies will be cut in half.
Mr Suttipong said the local polls must be held before LAO members' terms expire by the end of May. These bodies include municipalities, provincial administrative organisations (PAOs), tambon administrative organisations (TAOs), the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Pattaya City.
However, before the local polls are held, six related laws must be amended, especially regarding the stipulations relating to the qualifications of candidates.
The amendments, subject to approval by the National Legislative Assembly, will halve the number of TAO members. Currently, each TAO features two representatives from each village within its jurisdiction. The amendments, if passed, would reduce this to one member per village. Each TAO would also comprise no more than six members. The number of TAO members now stands at 100,000 but this would drop to 50,000.
Mr Suttipong said this would save up to 4.7 billion baht a year from the TAO's fixed budget, taking into account the shrinking payroll.
Meanwhile, Mr Chartchai also said yesterday he believed the National Council for Peace and Order will resolve the issue surrounding the suspension of some LAO executives suspected of involvement in alleged abuse of power. The suspension was signed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha via orders he issued on several occasions under Section 44.
Mr Chartchai said if any executives were found not to be involved in malpractice, they should be allowed to contest in the LAO elections.