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| Image: Flickr User - Prachatai |
By Prashanth Parameswaran
Premier says much-awaited polls will take place next year regardless of the fate of a new draft constitution.
The head of Thailand’s ruling junta Prayut Chan-o-cha has pledged that a much-awaited general election will take place in 2017 in spite of fears that a new draft constitution may once again derail polls.
Since the military junta assumed power in a coup in May 2014, elections have repeatedly been delayed – first into 2016 and then 2017. In September last year, government officials had said that polls would be held in mid-2017 in accordance with a 20-month process known as the “6-4-6-4 road map to democracy,” where the government would have six months to draft a new constitution, four months to hold a referendum on it, six months to draft organic laws to support the constitution and four months to campaign ahead of the election (See: “When Will Thailand’s Elusive Election Be Held?”).
But with a new draft constitution released last week criticized by political parties across the spectrum, there are concerns that it will be rejected in a July referendum, thereby once again delaying a return to democracy. Upon the release of the new constitution, Meechai Ruchupan, the chairman of the junta-appointed Constitution Drafting Committee, admitted that it was difficult to find solutions for reconciliation and that the government roadmap for a mid-2017 election would be delayed by a minimum of two to three months.
“In terms of finding a solution for the current situation, we really could not think it up and have told the Prime Minister so,” he said.
Read the full story at The Diplomat