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 The military said it intervened to restore order after months of
political turmoil as protesters tried to topple the government of
former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Yingluck was forced to step down on May 7 after being found guilty
of abuse of power by the Constitutional Court. The remainder of her
cabinet was ousted in the coup two weeks later.
The junta tore up the old constitution and a provisional charter was
endorsed by head of state King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Tuesday,
allowing the appointment of a parliament, the National Legislative
Assembly, which will nominate a new prime minister.
Asked at a news conference whether Prayuth would continue as leader
under the interim charter, Wissanu Krea-ngam, a legal adviser to the
junta, said: "The constitution allows it, but whether he is
appointed or not is down to the National Legislative Assembly."
General Paiboon Koomchaya, in charge of legal affairs for the junta,
suggested Prayuth could do the job perfectly.
"I don't see he has any flaws in performing his duties. As of now he
is already performing the duties of a prime minister. For the past
two months, he has been sitting at the head of the table at every
meeting and the administration of the country has gone smoothly
during these two months," Paiboon said.
Ambika Ahuja, a specialist on Thailand at Eurasia Group, a New
York-based political risk consultancy, believed Prayuth would retain
control of the government either as prime minister or defense
minister.
Alternatively, she wrote in a note, he could wield influence by
staying on as army chief after his scheduled retirement from the
army in October while former army chief Prawit Wongsuwan was
installed as prime minister.
"Such a move would signify a failure to find a neutral figure to
navigate the political conflict and strong distrust of those outside
the army," she said.
The upheaval is the latest chapter in almost a decade of conflict
pitting Thailand's royalist establishment and Bangkok's middle class
against Yingluck's brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, and
his supporters among the poor. Thaksin's devoted following in the
rural north and northeast has ensured that he or parties loyal to
him have won every election since 2001. He was toppled in an earlier
coup, in 2006.
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MARTIAL LAW REMAINS
The military will remain in charge of national security alongside
the incoming provisional government and Paiboon said martial law,
imposed on May 20, would remain in force.
"It is still necessary for the peace and safety of our country," he
said.
Junta adviser Wissanu said the interim constitution would probably
be in force for around a year, after which a new constitution would
take effect and elections then held under its provisions. Prayuth
has said a general election could be held in late 2015. A national
reform council is to be set up with a broad remit to draw up
political and economic reforms, including the reshaping of national
and local government, education, energy policy and other matters.
The protesters who undermined Yingluck's government during months of
street rallies - and whose leadership is close to the royalist and
military establishment - wanted the electoral system to be redrawn
to eliminate the influence of Thaksin. Many favored a parliament
that was partly or wholly appointed. A committee is to draft a new,
permanent constitution under a chairman nominated by the junta.
There is no provision for a referendum, unlike in 2007 when the army
pushed through a new constitution after toppling Thaksin, and
apparently no great desire.
"If the constitution is drafted quickly, we can have a referendum.
But if it's slow, we'll have to consider whether it's necessary
because a referendum takes time and that will cause further delay
for the election," Wissanu said.
Ambika at Eurasia Group said the charter gave the army "effective
control of Thailand's constitutional and electoral reform".
It excluded people who had recently been in political parties from
becoming prime minister, cabinet members or even members of the
provisional parliament, she said, and was likely to "strengthen the
role of technocrats, bureaucrats and supporters of the conservative
establishment".
(Additional reporting by Pairat Temphairojana; Writing by Alan
Raybould)
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