ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview on the Provincial Council Election of 1990. In principle democratic and decentralized government at the provincial level is constituted by elections for members of the executive of the Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO), the provincial council. The reluctance of the state to devolve substantive powers to elected representatives has meant that the PAO and council have not had a meaningful role. National politicians throughout the country cultivated comparable relationships with would-be provincial councillors. Arguably the political importance of provincial councils rests on something other than their formal status as local government bodies. They are a natural recruiting ground for MPs seeking to mobilize votes in the districts that correspond with provincial councillors' constituencies. Sergeant Khem and Oy's building supplies store provided a means of winning electoral support among villagers in general and the district's religious leaders in particular.
