Efforts to orientation “Local Government” of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Abstract

Efforts to adapt and find a local government model in the Lao People's Democratic Republic have been influenced by local government during the colonial period. Until independence and a state ruled by centralized power by a single political party. It is seen that local government mainly supports or responds to the goals of the state rulers. Much of it is the self-government of the people according to the principles of local government. All of this has led to the political organization and local government system of Laos being changed in four periods of development until the present. How many levels of local government will be organized? Meanwhile, at present, the focus is on local areas with potential or economic importance rather than the needs of the people.

The key problem is the attempt to decentralize power and provide opportunities for citizens to participate in or play a role in local government structures, but it has turned into a return to centralization of power by monopolizing the power of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party with the goal of creating peace and national unity through the use of the constitution and law as tools. This makes the local government system only a mechanism of governance or a tool for the government to control and operate the economy. It is not promoting the political participation of the people according to the principles of local government.