 |
| Image: Flickr User - Prachatai |
By Pavin Chachavalpongpun
2015 was a year of stillness in Thailand, at least in the political realm.
The military staged a coup that ousted Yingluck Shinawatra’s elected government in May 2014. Throughout 2015, the military regime of General Prayuth Chan-ocha — Thailand’s current prime minister — promised a number of projects that claimed to put Thailand back on the democratic track. But these promises proved to be empty.
Two major events in 2015 in particular served to question the sincerity of the junta in its endeavor to reform Thailand.
The first was the failure of the constitutional drafting process. Tasked with writing a new constitution, the Constitutional Drafting Committees presented their charter to military-appointed parliamentarians but it was not approved.
The nature of the new constitution was in itself controversial: it was designed to prevent powerful political parties, like that of Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra, from easily returning to power. This was because it encouraged independent candidates to run for parliamentary seats. These independents were expected to take a fair share of seats from the Shinawatras.
The rejection of the constitution, though pointing to the junta’s incompetency in the drafting mission, helps to prolong the life of the military government. This strongly implies that the junta is planning to stay in power at least until after the royal transition. King Bhumibol Adulyadej has been ill. The anxiety that comes with the thought of a royal succession prompted the military to take charge of political power to defend the interests of the royal institution and itself.
Read the full story at The Diplomat