Who runs local government in Brunei?

Brunei has no elected local government. The country is run from the centre: four districts are managed by District Officers who belong to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The only local posts chosen by a public vote are the village heads (ketua kampung) and the heads of mukims (penghulu), who act as the government's link with residents.

Brunei Darussalam · Unitary absolute monarchy (sultanate) · South-eastern Asia

The levels of government below the nation

Level	How it is chosen	What it does
Districts (4: Brunei-Muara, Belait, Tutong, Temburong)	District Officer, a civil servant of the Ministry of Home Affairs	Runs local administration, welfare and oversight of mukim and village heads; no elected council.
Mukims (about 39 sub-districts)	Penghulu elected by mukim residents aged 18+ from approved nominees (since a 2015 policy change); confirmed by the Ministry	Government's 'eyes, ears and mouth' in the area; passes on information and residents' concerns.
Villages (kampung, about 185 posts) and longhouses	Ketua kampung elected by villagers from nominees vetted by the District Office; some longhouse chiefs	Community leadership, welfare, security reporting, organising village events.
Municipal boards (Bandar Seri Begawan and other towns)	Appointed by the government	Urban services such as cleaning, markets and building control.

Three questions about local power in Brunei

Are local leaders elected?

Only penghulu and ketua kampung are chosen by a local vote. District Officers, municipal boards and the national Legislative Council are appointed.

Which laws set up local government?

The posts of penghulu and ketua kampung are official government roles with allowances and a service scheme, but they are not civil servants. Village consultative councils are recognised and funded by district offices.

Who are local leaders accountable to?

Penghulu and village heads answer to the District Office and Ministry of Home Affairs, which approves nominees and can end appointments. Voters choose among approved candidates; there is no elected body above them.

Traditional and customary authority

The Sultan is both head of state and head of the official religion, Islam, under the 1959 Constitution, and religious life is regulated by state bodies such as the Islamic Religious Council (MUIB) and the Syariah courts. Mosque imams are appointed through the state religious system rather than chosen by congregations. Older ideas of rank survive in nobility titles granted by the Sultan, but the penghulu and ketua kampung posts are now government offices filled by local vote rather than inheritance.

Community and neighbourhood power

Each mukim and village can have a Mukim and Village Consultative Council (Majlis Perundingan Mukim dan Kampung, MPMK), which organises community projects and small economic activities with money from the District Office. These councils, the penghulu and the ketua kampung form a single chain that links households to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Points to know

A UBD study described the village-head and penghulu votes as the only form of public election in Brunei.
In January 2018, only 127 of 185 ketua kampung posts and 28 of 39 penghulu posts were filled, showing how hard it was to recruit candidates.
A 2015 policy change aimed to attract younger and better-educated candidates for these posts.
Brunei-Muara district holds about 69% of the population, so most local administration happens there.

Local terms

Ketua kampung: Village head, elected by villagers and recognised by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Penghulu: Head of a mukim (a group of villages), now chosen by residents' vote.
Mukim: A sub-district made up of several villages.

Sources

Constitution of Brunei Darussalam 1959 (rev. 2006) (English text), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
Penghulus and Ketua Kampongs: Relevancy and Challenges in Brunei Darussalam (Li Li Pang, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, AAPA 2018), Atlantis Press (conference proceedings), checked 14 October 2026
Ministry of Home Affairs, Brunei Darussalam, Government of Brunei Darussalam, checked 14 October 2026