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50-523: According to the Thailand Future Foundation, Bangkok employs a workforce of 97,000, including 3,200 municipal officers in Bangkok city, 200 in the city Law Enforcement Department, and 3,000 in district offices. BMA has 65 departments in total, 50 of which are departments respective to the 50 districts of Bangkok . The rest consist of: Strategy and Planning Department, Finance Department, Bureau of

100-471: A body called National Reform Council (สภาปฏิรูปแห่งชาติ) or NRC to implement the reforms. The NRC has no more than 250 members: 76 members represent the 76 provinces (one from each province), one member represents Bangkok , and the others represent the 11 functions of government. All of them are handpicked by the NCPO and appointed by the king. The methods for selection of NRC members are outlined in section 30 of

150-462: A constituent committee to draft the new constitution. The constitution does specify fixed dates for the completion of these works. Although the constitution recognises Thailand as a democratic state and the Thai people as sovereign, the constitution grants amnesty to those involved for all past and future military actions concerning the coup and invests the NCPO with vast powers, including the power by which

200-519: A new constitution is started when the NRC makes recommendations about the new constitution to the CC. The recommendations are required to be made within 60 days after the first meeting of the NRC. The CC is required to complete drafting the new constitution within 120 days after receiving those recommendations. If it fails to observe the time limit, it comes to an end and a new CC is then appointed within 15 days to draw up

250-412: A new draft. The new CC may not include any member of the defunct CC. The finished draft is to be forwarded to the NRC for initial consideration which needs to be completed within 10 days after the NRC receives the draft. Within 30 days of the initial consideration, any member of the NRC, NCPO, or cabinet may make proposals for editing the draft to the CC. The proposals are then considered by the CC during

300-407: A period of 60 days following the said 30 days. The edited draft is to be forwarded to the NRC to further be approved or disapproved in whole. The approval or disapproval must be adopted within 15 days after the NRC receives the draft and the draft cannot be edited again. If the draft is approved, the NRC president presents it to the king for the royal signature and the NRC president also countersigns

350-402: A provisional government by September 2014. On 23 June 2014, it was announced that Chulalongkorn University law lecturer Wissanu Krea-ngam was drafting an interim constitution for General Prayut. Wissanu was assisted by Pornpet Wichitchonlachai , a fellow law lecturer at Chulalongkorn University. Pornpet is known for his unsuccessful proposal to extend the lèse majesté law to all members of

400-404: A retrograde step. But without that section, we would lack any power to handle some serious problems like counter coups which had happened in the history." He also said that the amnesty under sections 47 and 48 were needed to prevent "endless vengeance" and such amnesty has been a tradition since the 1932 revolution . Pornpet Wichitchonlachai, another CU law lecturer who assisted Wissanu in drafting

450-422: A saint which was considered by Field Marshal Sarit to be a threat to the throne. Human Rights Watch 's Asian division director Brad Adams said although section 4 of the constitution recognises human rights and liberties arising from democratic traditions and international obligations of Thailand, the NCPO has broad authority under section 44 to limit, suspend or suppress fundamental human rights protections. In

500-496: A statement he said, "The NCPO's claims that the interim constitution is essential for restoring electoral democracy and civilian rule in Thailand are a façade for continuing control by the junta....By tightening their control, the generals are backtracking on their repeated promises to restore democracy in Thailand. This is a charter for dictatorship." Regarding the amnesty under sections 47 and 48, Paul Chambers, director of research at

550-414: A view to eradicating the influence of Yingluck and Thaksin in Thai politics. The constitution has been heavily criticised for being undemocratic and further strengthening the military's powers, especially section 44 which gives the NCPO sweeping powers and sections 47 and 48 which enshrine amnesty for all past and future military actions. Provisions similar to section 44 had been contained in some of

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600-429: Is a unitary and democratic monarchy . Section 3 provides that " sovereign power belongs to all Thais". Section 4 recognises human dignity , rights, liberties, and equality of all Thais. Section 5 says that all matters failing to be mentioned in the constitution will be dealt with pursuant to the customary practices of democratic government of monarchical Thailand, insofar as those practices are not contrary to

650-484: Is elected to a four-year term. The last election was held on 22 May 2022. Currently there are 50 members, with Pheu Thai making up 20 seats, Move Forward 14 seats, the Democrat Party 9 seats, Rak Krungthep 3 seats, Phalang Pracharat 2 seats and Thai Srang Thai another 2 seats. The council is divided into 11 general committees with five to nine members appointed by the councillors themselves: The Secretariat of

700-507: Is the BMA's holding company for public investment projects such as the concession for the BTS Skytrain and a 20 billion baht underground cable project. Bangkok's FY2024 budget totals ฿ 90,570,138,630. Most of the budget goes to civil construction and maintenance projects. The governor of Bangkok ( Thai : ผู้ว่าราชการกรุงเทพมหานคร , RTGS :  phu wa ratchakan krung thep maha nakhon )

750-546: Is the head of the local government of Bangkok . The governor is also the chief executive of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). The governor is elected to a renewable term of four years, currently it is one of the two directly elected executive offices in the kingdom. The office is comparable to that of a city mayor . From 2016 to 2022 Pol Gen Aswin Kwanmuang acted as Governor of Bangkok. He

800-443: Is the primary unit for overseeing security and orderliness of Bangkok with more than 3,000 quality personnel. Which has 5 important tasks which are to organize the city, Security, Traffic supervision, Tourism Administration and other special missions. Responsible for overseeing, investigating, arresting, prosecuting and enforcing Bangkok Metropolis regulations and other laws within the jurisdiction of Bangkok including operations beyond

850-586: The Royal Thai Armed Forces staged a coup d'état unseating the government on 22 May 2014. On that day, the military formed the NCPO to rule the nation and partially repealed the 2007 constitution, keeping intact chapter 2 (concerning the monarchical institution). General Prayut said that he would run the country until the situation requires an interim government, without promises of a quick return to civilian rule. But after international pressures, he announced that there would be an interim constitution and

900-540: The Bang Khun Thian Geriatric Hospital. The department also operates the Erawan Medical Centre for emergency medical services. The Department of Planning and Urban Development are divided to Secretarial Office, Town Planning Office, Urban Development and Renewal Office, Geo-Informatics Office, Town Planning Control Division, Policy and Planning Division. The department has a duty to planning of

950-529: The Bangkok Metropolitan Council ( Thai : สำนักงานเลขานุการสภากรุงเทพมหานคร) is the executive agency of the council. The secretariat helps the council in all its roles including drafting of legislation, organisation of sessions, minutes and procedures of the council. The secretariat also helps members of the council by providing research and legal counsel. The secretariat is headed by the Secretary of

1000-424: The Bangkok Metropolitan Council ( Thai : เลขานุการสภากรุงเทพมหานคร) The current secretary is Manit Tej-Apichok . The secretariat itself is divided into nine sections: The Bangkok Post has made the point that, although the city suffers from the "worst traffic congestion in the world after Mexico City", 37 disparate agencies are responsible for traffic management, planning, and infrastructure. It maintains that

1050-533: The Budget, Public Works Department, Drainage and Sewerage Department, Department of Social Development, Department of Environment, Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, Health Department, Bangkok Educational Office, Traffic and Transport Department, Department of Planning and Urban Development, Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and the Medical Services Department. City Law Enforcement Department

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1100-469: The Institute of Southeast Asian Affairs, said, "The point of the constitution is to add palace legitimacy to the coup through the king-endorsed enshrinement of new laws." He added that "Almost every Thai constitution has included an amnesty for the military. In fact, amnesty for military has been a major rationale for most Thai constitutions. This allows and encourages coup after coup after coup." In addition,

1150-412: The NCPO leader can issue any order at will for the sake of the reforms or security. All orders so issued are considered lawful and final. Public discussions about the interim constitution are prohibited by the NCPO. After months of political crisis in which former Democrat Party secretary general Suthep Thaugsuban led a street protest against the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ,

1200-462: The NCPO leader. Section 40 requires the issuance of a royal decree to determine monetary benefits for the members of the NLA, NRC, NCPO, and CC. Section 46 permits an amendment to the interim constitution. It prescribes that "if necessary and appropriate," the NCPO and the cabinet may jointly propose an amendment to the NLA and the NLA needs to approve or disapprove the proposal within 15 days of receiving

1250-445: The NCPO members. General Prayut was granted a total of 125,590 baht per month. Each of the other NCPO members was given 119,920 baht per month. These salaries are paid in addition to the benefits they are already entitled to by virtue of their posts in the armed forces. On 21 August 2014, the NLA unanimously voted General Prayut the new prime minister of the country. The formal appointment was made on 24 August 2014. In October 2014,

1300-463: The United Nations issued a short report citing several criticisms and notes of concern over the 2014 interim constitution. On 29 August 2015, the CC completed drafting a new constitution and forwarded it to the NRC for approval. On 6 September 2015, the NRC voted 135:105 to disapprove the draft. According to the interim constitution, the draft being rejected resulted in the coming to an end of both

1350-533: The act occurs inside or outside the kingdom". The orders so issued are all deemed "lawful, constitutional and final". Following the 2019 Thai general election , a new cabinet was sworn in on 16 July 2019. This dissolved the NCPO and rendered Section 44 void. Sections 27–31 provide for extensive national reforms in 11 governmental functions: politics, public administration, law and justice, local administration, education, economy, energy, public health and environment, media, society, and others. Section 28 establishes

1400-505: The authority of the district office or in the case of serious danger to most people. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation operates the city's fire and rescue services. The Bangkok City Council reported in February 2018 that, of Bangkok's 874 fire trucks, only 88 were in "good" condition. Another 340 were rated "only just usable", 232 were "dilapidated", and 225 were parked permanently. Firefighting boats were found to be in roughly

1450-543: The citizens in a nationwide referendum before it is forwarded to the king for his signature. The requirement was disapproved by the NCPO and was deleted. Wisanu explained that the requirement was deleted to avoid "lengthy process". Following heavy criticism, the military ordered prohibition of public discussions on the interim constitution, saying that "love and harmony of the people in the nation" would be affected. On 31 July 2014, 200 NLA members were appointed, of whom 105 were military officers, 10 were police officers, and

1500-623: The city government panders to personal automobile use. As evidence, it points to the city's plans to construct four new bridges across the Chao Phraya River , its runaway air pollution , its lack of green space—less than that of any other Asian capital—and its "...obsession with felling trees along Bangkok streets." List of districts in Bangkok Bangkok is subdivided into 50 districts ( khet , เขต , pronounced [kʰèːt] , also sometimes wrongly called amphoe as in

1550-471: The city including planning for the development of specific areas, planning for conservation Rehabilitation and planning for urban development and also an agency for controlling, promoting and inspecting the use of land and buildings. BMA autonomously manages Navamindradhiraj University, of which the Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital and Kuakarun Faculty of Nursing are part. Krungthep Thanakom Company Limited

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1600-411: The constitution and in a royal decree issued on 31 July 2014: Section 32–39 detail the preparation of a new constitution. Section 32 establishes a body called Constituent Committee (คณะกรรมาธิการยกร่างรัฐธรรมนูญ) or CC. The CC consists of 36 members appointed by the NRC president: CC members are required to be appointed within 15 days after the NRC is convoked for the first time. The preparation of

1650-427: The constitution has been criticised for failing to precisely specify when the reforms and the preparation of a new constitution would be finished. Retired Thammasat University (TU) dean of law Panas Tassaneyanond said, "The only thing democracy lovers could hold on to was the NCPO leader's pledge to return power to the people." A group of Thai citizens issued a statement condemning the constitution for not representing

1700-401: The constitution on 22 July 2014. The constitution came into force on that day and replaced the 2007 constitution . The interim constitution paves the way for the establishment of a national legislature to exercise the legislative power, a provisional cabinet to take charge of public administration, a reform council to execute extensive national reforms and approve a draft new constitution, and

1750-550: The constitution. Sections 6–18 concern the legislative branch. These sections establish a unicameral legislature called the National Legislative Assembly (สภานิติบัญญัติแห่งชาติ) or NLA. The NLA consists of no more than 220 members, all handpicked by the NCPO and appointed by the king. Section 15 grants the king the power to veto bills. Sections 19–20 establish a cabinet consisting of one prime minister and no more than 35 other ministers, all appointed by

1800-453: The draft. Section 37 permits the king to veto the draft constitution. If the NRC fails to adopt the approval or disapproval within the time limit, or if the draft is disapproved by the NRC or is vetoed by the king, both the NRC and the CC will come to an end. A new NRC and CC will then be appointed to redo the process. The new NRC and CC may not include any member of the defunct NRC or CC. Section 35 sets out 10 requirements which must be in

1850-560: The governor. The council is headed by the Chairman of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council ( Thai : ประธานสภากรุงเทพมหานคร) . The current chairman, since 2013, is Captain Kriangsak Lohachala. The number of members depends on the size of Bangkok's population. One member represents one hundred thousand people. From 2010 to 2014 there were 61 members, elected from 57 constituencies (some constituencies elect more than one member) in Bangkok. Each

1900-437: The interim constitution, said he personally believed that General Prayut, in exercising the power under section 44, would not go as far as Field Marshal Sarit did. However, the televising was immediately stopped when Pravit Rojanaphruk, a senior journalist from The Nation , asked the NCPO to more clearly explain sections 44 and 48. The draft interim constitution originally required that a draft new constitution be approved by

1950-426: The king after the prime minister is selected by the NLA and the other ministers are selected by the prime minister. Section 19 allows the prime minister to be removed by the king upon advice of the NLA president. This advice can only be made upon a proposal by the NCPO. The section also allows for a minister to be removed by the king upon the advice of the prime minister. Sections 21–25 contain certain prerogatives of

2000-556: The king, such as the issuance of decrees, the conclusion of treaties, and the ceremonial appointment and removal of governmental officers. Section 42 keeps the NCPO in existence and authorises it to control the cabinet. Section 44 empowers the NCPO leader to issue any order "for the sake of the reforms in any field, the promotion of love and harmony amongst the people in the nation, or the prevention, abatement or suppression of any act detrimental to national order or security, royal throne, national economy or public administration, whether

2050-466: The new constitution, such as provisions declaring Thailand a monarchy, the establishment of a democratic government which is "appropriate for Thai society", and the prohibition of change of some principles to be contained in the new constitution. Section 26 recognises judicial independence . Section 45 allows the Constitutional Court to remain functional, but subject to the special power of

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2100-505: The other provinces, derived from Pali khetta , cognate to Sanskrit kṣetra ), which are further subdivided into 180 subdistricts ( khwaeng , แขวง , pronounced [kʰwɛ̌ːŋ] ), roughly equivalent to tambon in the other provinces. 2014 interim constitution of Thailand#Executive branch The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Interim) 2014 ( Thai : รัฐธรรมนูญแห่งราชอาณาจักรไทย (ฉบับชั่วคราว) พุทธศักราช ๒๕๕๗ )

2150-422: The others academics, politicians, and businesspersons who opposed the ousted government. Pornpet and a younger brother of General Prayut are also on the list of appointees. On 7 August 2014, the state opening of the NLA was held. The following day, Pornpet was selected as the NLA president. On 2 August 2014, the royal decree under section 40 of the constitution was issued to determine monetary benefits for

2200-443: The previous interim supreme laws of Thailand and had been invoked by Thai military dictators to order extrajudicial killings . One of the notable cases was section 17 of the 1959 charter which had been invoked by Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat to order a large number of people accused of crimes to be executed without proper trials in court. Those alleged crimes ranged from committing arson , being communists , to proclaiming oneself

2250-451: The proposal. The section again authorises the king to veto the approved proposal. Sections 47–48 legitimise all coup-related actions by the NCPO, by its subordinates, or by the subordinates of its subordinates, as well as all orders and announcements issued by them. The national reforms dictated by the constitution reflect the demands of the anti-government protesters who wanted an unelected reform council to carry out national reforms with

2300-584: The royal household and the privy council . On 22 July 2014, the two-month anniversary of the coup, General Prayut had an audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej at his seaside Klai Kangwon Palace to present the draft interim constitution to the King for his signature. After being signed by the King on that day, it went into effect forthwith and was published in the Royal Gazette . The constitution consists of 48 sections. Sections 1 and 2 prescribe that Thailand

2350-794: The same shape: three of 31 vessels were ranked in "good" condition and 21 were out of service and permanently docked. The BMA's firefighting unit has not been allocated a vehicle maintenance budget for nearly 10 years. The BMA employs 1,800 firefighters as of 2018. The Department of Medical Services operates 11 hospitals and is headquartered at BMA General Hospital (Klang Hospital) in Pom Prap Sattru Phai District . Other hospitals include Taksin Hospital , Charoenkrung Pracharak Hospital , Sirindhorn Hospital , Lat Krabang Hospital, Luang Pho Taweesak Hospital, Wetchakarunrasm Hospital, Ratchaphiphat Hospital, Khlong Sam Wa Hospital, Bang Na Hospital and

2400-487: The will of the Thais as a whole, describing it as "Thailand's most anti-democratic constitution in half a century". On 23 July 2014, the NCPO made a televised appearance to give an explanation about the constitution. During the appearance, CU law lecturer Wissanu Krea-ngam, who drafted the interim constitution, said the power under section 44 is intended for dealing with any counter-coup. He said "I don't care if anybody says it's

2450-484: Was a constitution of Thailand in force between 2014 and 2017. Drafted by law lecturers from Chulalongkorn University (CU), the constitution was enacted by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), a military junta led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha which staged a coup d'état against the caretaker government on 22 May 2014. Without public consultation, King Bhumibol Adulyadej assented to and signed

2500-426: Was appointed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha using Section 44 of the interim charter to replace Sukhumbhand Paribatra . The reason given for his ouster was "...because he was involved in many legal cases." The Bangkok Metropolitan Council or BMC ( Thai : สภากรุงเทพมหานคร) is the legislative branch of the administration. It is vested with primary legislative powers as well as the power to scrutinize and advise

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