Thai deputy PM: Election may be delayed until 2017

By CS Thana

BANGKOK

Thailand's ruling junta has warned that a general election could again be delayed – this time until 2017 -- if a military-appointed reform body does not approve a new constitution.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-Ngam told reporters Monday that if the National Reform Council rejects a charter drafted by a drafting committee – also handpicked by the military -- elections would not be held until 2017.

"I am not saying this to postpone or shorten our time in power, [the timeframe for postponing the election] is set as part of protocol," he said, insisting that the junta was acting in line with the original roadmap back to democracy. "We are still following the terms of the roadmap."

If however the Council approves the charter, the election would be held in September 2016, he added.

The comments come in the wake of several council members calling for the rejection of the draft constitution saying that military-led reforms have yet to be completed. 

It is the latest delay to the election that was originally slated for July of this year.

Thailand’s previous constitution was abolished after the junta seized power May 22, 2014, following massive anti-government demonstrations against the elected government of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The draft constitution – on which the junta decided to hold a referendum, resulting in the previous delay to the election -- includes several controversial sections aimed at limiting the power of elected politicians.

The most controversial clause proposes that a non-MP can become prime minister upon receiving the vote of two-thirds of the House of Representatives, while another says senators will be selected from candidates nominated by ex-politicians and high-ranking civil servants (including military officers).

The draft also proposes the establishment of a national ethics assembly that will “monitor and scrutinize the ethical conducts of senior political-office holders,” and formally bans “populist policies.”

The overthrown government of Yingluck – who has been retroactively impeached and is currently on trial on negligence charges -- has been accused of corruption and initiating “populist policies” by conservatives groups backed by the bureaucracy and military.

Thailand has had more than a dozen charters or constitutions since the abolition of the absolute monarchy in 1932, many adopted following the 18 previous military coups.