Interim government in Thailand by September
Bangkok: The head of Thailand’s military junta said on Friday that an interim government would be set up by September, offering the most specific timeline yet on a possible transfer of power after last month’s coup.
Army commander Gen. Prayuth Chanocha has already said it could take more than a year for new elections to be held because peace and reforms must be achieved first.
He on Friday said that a temporary Constitution would be drafted and an interim government installed in the next three months. “A government will likely be set up in August or early September,” Gen. Prayuth told a meeting of civil servants. “When we have a government, we will move forward. Then the reform council can begin.”
A reform council tasked with instituting political reforms in the deeply divided country will include rivals from Thailand’s long-running political conflict, he said. The Army seized power overthrowing a government elected voters three years ago.