FACTORS AFFECTING POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF PEOPLE IN PHITSANULOK PROVINCE

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to 1) Study the level of political participation of citizens. 2) Analyze factors of political participation It affects the political participation of the people and 3) Propose guidelines for promoting and developing political participation of people in Phitsanulok Province. It is a mixed methods research. The population consists of 689,069 people who have the right to elect members of the House of Representatives in Phitsanulok Province. The sample size was found according to Taro Yamane's formula to be 400 people. Interviews with 17 people involved were: 1) local/community leaders, 4 people 2) Academics: 4 people 3) Government officials: 3 people 4) Politicians: 3 people 5) Media: 3 people. Tools include questionnaires and interviews. The quality data was analyzed to summarize the variables. Statistics used include: Frequency distribution, percentage, mean, standard deviation and statistics for multiple regression analysis

The results of the research found that 1) The overall level of political participation of the people was at a moderate level. When considering each aspect It was found to be at a moderate level in all 4 areas, including contacting government officials and having the highest average, followed by the area of exercising voting rights. In terms of following political news Participating in public activities and activities of political parties has the lowest average 2) political participation factor Affecting people's political participation, it was found that there were 3 factors: political psychology Political environment and social environment Affects the political participation of the people of Phitsanulok Province by 76.8 percent with statistical significance at the .05 level and 3 approaches to promote and develop the political participation of the people in Phitsanulok Province Must proceed as follows: 1) Promote knowledge of political participation among the people. 2) Knowledge and understanding of democratic governance 3) Must use community methods to cultivate culture and tradition, and 4) Create community power to drive participation..