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Abstract

This research aimed to study the political climate and behavior of persons
involved in the 2020 election of the council members and chief executive officer (CEO)
of the Khon Kaen Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO). The authors employed
a holistic single case study design and data were collected by analyses of related
documents, interviews, and a province-wide survey. Key findings are as follows. Khon

Kaen was the province with the most candidates for the 2020 PAO elections: there
were 177 candidates for the council members and ten candidates for the CEO. Most
of the candidates were not explicitly affiliated with any national political party. A

different approach to campaigning from previous PAO elections was the use of social
media platforms. Still, it was found that traditional methods—e.g., staging campaign
speeches, knocking on doors, distributing leaflets and brochures, advertising on
billboards, etc.—were still employed by most of the candidates. The voter turnout on

20 December 2020 accounted for 59.39 percent of all eligible voters. The survey results
indicate that the majority of people showed a very high level of interest and
anticipation of the PAO elections. It was also found that the national political climate
and the exchange of benefits had the least impact on their decision-making. The

election results revealed that 22 out of 42 winners for the council member seats were
former council members from the 2012 election. Pongsak Tangwanichkphong, who
served as the CEO of Khon Kaen Provincial Administrative Organization since 1998,
again won the election but with dramatically lower votes.

Keywords: election, local government, provincial administrative organization,

survey, case study

โครงการศึกษาการเลือกตั้งระดับท้องถิ่น ปี 2563: การเลือกตั้งสมาชิกสภาองค์การบริหารส่วนจังหวัดและนายกองค์การบริหารส่วนจังหวัดขอนแก่น ค