Thai Military Govt rejects demand for speedy election

The Thai Military Government would not yield to anti-government protesters’ demand to hold a general election this year, said Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan on Monday.

“We will proceed with our roadmap,’’ Prawit told reporters, referring to the plan to hold the election by 2018.

Prawit’s remark came after hundreds of protesters marched to the army headquarters in Bangkok on Saturday to demand a timely election, the end to the army’s support for the junta a faction that seized power nearly four years ago and the dissolution of the junta itself.

“The army is part of the junta. We are inseparable. These demands are mere attempts to create disturbances,” Prawit said.

Initially promising to stay in power for only one year after staging a coup in 2014, the ruling generals have postponed election dates at least four times, citing the need to complete its reforms and oversee national security.

The latest timeline sees the election promised for November 2017 being pushed back to February 2019 or later, prompting unprecedented protests in Bangkok and other parts of the country.

Chanting “election this year,’’ “junta, get out’’ and “down with the dictators, may democracy flourish,’’ the protesters accused of the junta of lying about the election date, plotting for prolonged administration, restriction of freedom of speech, and corruption.

Recent polls showed the regime’s popularity has been in sharp decline due to repeated election delays and corruption allegations.

Many protesters were charged with violating the junta’s ban on political assembly when they first staged a protest against the election delay in late January but have since been released on bail.