Development of Integrated Buddhist Political Participation Anticipation for Exercising Voting Rights in the Election of Members of the House of Representatives in Khon Kaen Province

Abstract

This research employed a mixed methods approach with three objectives: 1) to study political participation in the election of members of the House of Representatives in Khon Kaen Province; 2) to examine the factors influencing such participation; and 3) to propose the development of integrated Buddhist political participation for exercising the right to vote. In the first phase, in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 key informants, including monks, academics, politicians, local leaders, civil servants, and representatives from relevant agencies. In the second phase, questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 400 residents in Mueang District, Khon Kaen Province. In the third phase, focus group discussions were conducted with 9 participants from the same target groups. The research results revealed that public opinion regarding political participation in the election was at a high level overall. Factors significantly influencing political participation (at the 0.05 level) included political parties, party policies, puggalaññutā (knowing individuals), atthaññutā (knowing results), candidate qualifications, dhammaññutā (knowing principles and reasons), and election campaigning. The proposed model for integrated Buddhist political participation emphasized the application of the sappurisa-dhamma (virtues of a true person), consisting of: 1) dhammaññutā (knowing principles and reasons), 2) atthaññutā (knowing results and their causes), 3) attanññutā (knowing oneself and one’s role), 4) mattaññutā (knowing moderation and appropriate evaluation), 5) kālajñutā (knowing time management), 6) parisaññutā (knowing the community), and 7) puggalaññutā (knowing people). This framework enhances opportunities for people to participate in various monitoring and civic engagement activities.