Thailand´s military-picked national assembly on Thursday chose coup leader General Prayut Chan-O-Cha as prime minister in a one-horse race that entrenched the military´s strangle hold on power.
Nobody in the rubber-stamp legislature opposed the selection of the army chief, who ousted an elected government in a bloodless takeover on May 22.The move by the top general to shed his uniform and take the premiership is seen as cementing the military´s control of the politically turbulent nation. He was backed by 191 members of the 197-strong assembly, with three abstentions and three voters absent. No other candidate stood against him.Prayut´s appointment must be approved by King Bhumibol Adulyadej although royal endorsement is seen as a mere formality.
The military junta has ruled out holding new elections for at least a year, despite appeals from the United States and the European Union for a return to democracy.
Prayut, who is due to retire as army chief in September, is seen as a staunch opponent of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose overthrow in an earlier coup in 2006 triggered Thailand´s long-running political crisis.
Thaksin, the elder brother of Yingluck, fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid been sent to prison for a corruption conviction.
The army rulers say they want to reform Thailand to end years of political turbulence and street violence. Since seizing power the junta has abrogated the constitution, curtailed civil liberties under martial law and summoned hundreds of opponents, activists and academics for questioning.
A number of people in Pakistan see the Thailand situation as a facsimile of the situation here in Pakistan.
Thailand´s military-picked national assembly on Thursday chose coup leader General Prayut Chan-O-Cha as prime minister in a one-horse race that entrenched the military´s strangle hold on power.
Nobody in the rubber-stamp legislature opposed the selection of the army chief, who ousted an elected government in a bloodless takeover on May 22.The move by the top general to shed his uniform and take the premiership is seen as cementing the military´s control of the politically turbulent nation. He was backed by 191 members of the 197-strong assembly, with three abstentions and three voters absent. No other candidate stood against him.Prayut´s appointment must be approved by King Bhumibol Adulyadej although royal endorsement is seen as a mere formality.
The military junta has ruled out holding new elections for at least a year, despite appeals from the United States and the European Union for a return to democracy.
Prayut, who is due to retire as army chief in September, is seen as a staunch opponent of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose overthrow in an earlier coup in 2006 triggered Thailand´s long-running political crisis.
Thaksin, the elder brother of Yingluck, fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid been sent to prison for a corruption conviction.
The army rulers say they want to reform Thailand to end years of political turbulence and street violence. Since seizing power the junta has abrogated the constitution, curtailed civil liberties under martial law and summoned hundreds of opponents, activists and academics for questioning.
A number of people in Pakistan see the Thailand situation as a facsimile of the situation here in Pakistan.
