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| Prayuth Chan-ocha (Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Joshua Kurlantzick
Despite protestations, the coup leader appears to be settling into power.
News this week that Thailand’s ruling junta apparently has pushed back the date for a return to free elections should not have come as a great surprise. Since taking power in a coup in May 2014, the junta has repeatedly delayed planned elections, claiming that the country needs greater stability before a poll will be held or that the new constitution is not yet finished. After vowing elections in 2016, the deputy chairman of the junta-created legislature now reportedly has declared that elections will not be possible until 2017, since it will take so long to print the new charter and deliver written copies of it across Thailand. According to Khao Sod:
“[Deputy Chairman] Peerasak Porchit told reporters in Lopburi province on 18 July that he believes the ‘road map’ promised by the ruling junta, which seized power from an elected government in May 2014, may be extended yet again in order to prepare for the referendum on the new constitution … He added, ‘I insist that this is not a time extension for the Prime Minister to stay on or perpetuate his power.’”
Read the full story at The Diplomat