Published: Just now
Thailand’s prime minister, former coup plotter Prayut Chan-O-Cha, will run in the next election.
Chan-O-Cha led a coup in 2014 in which the Thai military seized power in the country. At first he led a military junta and later a kind of transitional government. While the constitution and laws were rewritten to give Chan-O-Cha more power, he was elected prime minister. Those who elected him were a parliamentary assembly made up mostly of unelected military personnel.
This time he will run for a newly formed party instead of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party. His former party is instead going ahead with Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan as its top candidate in the upcoming election.
A prime minister can only hold office for eight years. This summer, Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled that Prayut Chan-O-Cha’s time in office should be counted from a constitutional amendment implemented in 2017 and not from his assumption of power in 2014.
The next election will be held in the first half of 2023, and if Chan-O-Cha wins, according to current rules, he can only remain in office until 2025.
The opposition party Pheu Thai is currently the most popular party, according to opinion polls. However, the system is largely rigged for the political branches of the military after the changes of recent years.