After Thai general-turned-prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has been showing off a more personable side, some analysts in Thailand are speculating the junta leader could be running for office in the first elections since the army took over in 2014, according to Reuters.
Prayuth even appeared on a state television show to cook a chicken curry recipe for local villagers and last month released one of his own self-composed songs.
“Don’t let anyone destroy things like in the past ... Hold our hands sincerely and go forward together,” says the lyrics of the song written by the 64-year-old military leader.
Prayuth has not announced if he will be a candidate in the election that is currently scheduled to restore civilian rule in the Asian country on March 24.
The upcoming election will place the voters who remain loyal to the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister Yingluck, who were both removed from office in military coups, and those who support the junta and accuse the Shinawatra family of corruption.
Palang Pracharat, a pro-military political party, asked Prayuth to be its prime ministerial candidate last week, but he said he needed more time to think.
Friday is the final day candidates can register for the election, but most will presume he will end up running.
The military has immense power in Thailand, especially after a new constitution was ratified in 2016 which gives it influence over who will be prime minister.
A majority of the 250-seat Senate, which is entirely appointed by the military, and the 500-seat House of Representatives chooses the prime minister so a candidate would only need 126 votes in the lower house to have a majority if the Senate supported them.
Prayuth could also return to the role of prime minister if the parties are unable to agree on the candidates listed before the vote.
But the transition for the military official to a politician could be difficult since he's previously expressed anger in public, even threatening to throw a podium during a press briefing.
He also drew condemnation from human rights groups for a ban on political activity and intense internet censorship in Thailand, which included detaining and summoning hundreds of activists and others for "attitude adjustments."
Political scientist Prajak Kongkirati, who lectures at Bangkok’s Thammasat University, told Reuters Prayuth needed to act less authoritarian in the new role.
“Prayuth needs people to love him now because to win an election you cannot use fear,” Prajak said. “He knows he cannot be a dictator forever.”
-WN.com, Maureen Foody
Photo:
AP / Heng Sinith
