By Prashanth Parameswaran
The junta pushes back polls to make way for a referendum on a new constitution.
Thailand’s ruling junta delayed a general election by at least six months on Tuesday, in yet another sign that their grip on power will not be loosening anytime soon.
According to Reuters, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam told reporters that polls would take place in August 2016 at the earliest to allow for a referendum to be held on a contentious new draft constitution (See: “Thailand Completes Troubling New Constitution”). The Thai cabinet had earlier agreed that a referendum should be held on the constitution, following the recommendation of the Constitutional Drafting Committee.
“It will take place around August or in September,” Wissanu reportedly said.
As I reported previously for The Diplomat, members of the Thai junta, including Wissanu himself, had already suggested as early as last December that while February 2016 was the earliest that an election would be held, the date could be pushed back by a further three months until May 2016. (See: “No Thai Election Until At Least February 2016: Deputy Prime Minister”).
Read the full story at The Diplomat