BANGKOK: Thailand’s junta chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha called on Thursday for national unity and thanked members of parliament after they voted him in as a civilian prime minister, five years after he seized power in a military coup.
Prayuth easily defeated Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, a charismatic political newcomer, by 500-244 votes in a combined ballot by both houses of parliament, one of which was entirely appointed in a process controlled by the junta.
The late Wednesday vote followed a general election on March 24, the first since Prayuth’s 2014 coup, when he ousted an elected government and ushered in a phase of strict military rule.
The opposition Democratic Front of seven parties that voted for Thanathorn says the electoral system was designed to extend and legitimise military domination of civilian government.
The newly endorsed prime minister wanted all Thais to join
hands with him to take the country forward, a government spokesman said.
He would now “do his best for the nation, religion, monarchy, and the people”, said the spokesman, Lieutenant General Werachon Sukondhapatipak.
Prayuth will lead an unwieldy 19-party coalition government that has a slim majority in the lower House of Representatives, but could be vulnerable to defections and infighting.
Some Thais were unhappy by the Wednesday day vote with hashtag #RIPTHAILAND and #NotMyPM trending on Thai twitter in the aftermath of Prayuth’s confirmation.
“I was disappointed because I’m part of a new generation and I hope that the country could move forward to be better than it is now,” Suchanya Boonchu, 19, said. — Reuters
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