Legal Issues Regarding the Notification of Changes in Political Party Office Holders

Abstract

          This qualitative research aims to study the legal issues concerning the notification of changes in party officeholders under the Political Parties Act B.E. 2560 (2017) and its amendments, Sections 33 (for branch committee members), 35 (for provincial representatives), and 38 (for executive committee members). Using a documentary research method, the analysis of legal issues and enforcement obstacles revealed that current legislation has certain limitations that do not align with practical realities. These include the concentration of notification responsibility on a single party leader, the 15-day notification deadline for all cases, and duplication of information reporting. A comparative study of foreign and Thai law shows that foreign laws decentralize notification authority to internal party units and offer more flexible deadlines to accommodate political party operations. In contrast, Thai law mandates the party leader to notify all changes in party officeholders within a uniform 15-day deadline, with criminal penalties, representing a centralized and overly strict approach. Therefore, the researcher proposes amending the law to decentralize responsibility among party officeholders and adjust notification deadlines and enforcement conditions to better reflect practical circumstances. While still considering the balance between governance and promotion of political parties in a democratic system,this will enable political parties to comply with the law more effectively without imposing undue burdens and to truly achieve the intended purpose of the law.