Thai junta leader appointed new prime minister by hand-picked parliament

[KingsOfTheDay]

Thai junta leader appointed new prime minister by hand-picked parliament

Overwhelming vote sees sole candidate bolster the military's grip on power

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 21 August, 2014, 11:51am
UPDATED : Thursday, 21 August, 2014, 11:37pm

Associated Press in Bangkok

Prayuth Chan-ocha is Thailand's new prime minister. Photo: AP

Three months after overthrowing an elected government, Thailand's junta leader is stepping out of his army uniform to take up the post of prime minister in a move critics say will prolong his rule and bolster the military's grip on power.

Thailand's legislature voted overwhelmingly yesterday to name General Prayuth Chan-ocha to the new job. There was little doubt over the outcome since Prayuth was the only candidate and the assembly - hand-picked by the junta - is dominated by active and retired officers.

The 60-year-old is due to retire from the army next month. Until then he will hold both positions.

Yesterday's appointment appears aimed at keeping him at the helm as the military implements sweeping political reforms critics say are designed to purge the ousted ruling party's influence and benefit an elite minority that has failed to win national elections for more than a decade.

Prayuth has effectively served as de facto prime minister since staging the May 22 coup. For several years before that, he held the position of army chief, a post many regard as one of the country's most powerful. Thailand's military has a history of intervening in politics and has seized power 12 times since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932.

"He could have refused the job, but what would be the point?" said Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a Thai professor of Southeast Asian studies at Japan's Kyoto University.

"If he wasn't prime minister, he would have been manipulating the prime minister from behind the scenes," said Pavin, whose passport was revoked after he criticised the coup and refused to respond to a junta summons ordering him home.

Prayuth's appointment by the National Legislative Assembly must be approved by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a formality likely to occur within a week. Prayuth will then name a 35-member cabinet.

The vote was the latest in a series of moves by the junta to consolidate power. In July, the military adopted a temporary 48-article constitution. Shortly afterwards, it appointed the assembly.

Prayuth has said the army had to intervene to halt half a year of protests that had paralysed the government and triggered violence that killed dozens.

While stability has been restored and life has largely returned to normal, it has come at a steep price: Thailand's democratic institutions have been entirely dismantled, and the country's authoritarian rulers have crushed all dissent.