Bangkok ramps up security over protests

BANGKOK • The Thai authorities ramped up security in the capital Bangkok yesterday ahead of protests calling on the prime minister to resign, as a court considers whether to take up a petition to rule on when his constitutionally stipulated eight-year term is up.

The main opposition party, and nearly two-thirds of Thais surveyed in an opinion poll, believe Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who took power in a 2014 coup, should step down by today because his time as junta chief counts towards his term.

Mr Prayut, 68, was army chief when he mounted a coup in 2014 to overthrow an elected government. He became a civilian prime minister in 2019 after an election held under a military-drafted Constitution.

Police cordoned off areas around the Prime Minister's offices, known as Government House, in central Bangkok. They set up barricades, including shipping containers, and diverted traffic.

Mr Prayut was seen arriving for a weekly Cabinet meeting.

Thailand has experienced intermittent political turmoil for nearly two decades, including two coups and violent protests, broadly because of opposition to the military's involvement in politics and demands by increasingly politically aware sections of society for greater representation.

But protests have petered out over the past couple of years with the imposition of Covid-19 bans on gatherings. The main opposition Pheu Thai Party, meanwhile, has petitioned the Constitutional Court to rule on how long Mr Prayut can stay in office.

The court could decide to hear or dismiss the case today.

If the case is accepted, it is unclear if Mr Prayut would stay on as leader or be suspended from duty while a caretaker government takes over.

It is not known when the court would rule on the term limit.

The opposition says Mr Prayut's tenure as prime minister began in August 2014, a few months after the coup, and should therefore end this month.

But some of Mr Prayut's supporters argue that his premiership started in 2017, when a new Constitution came into force, or after the 2019 election - meaning he should be allowed to stay on until 2025 or 2027, provided he retains the necessary backing in Parliament.

A general election is due early next year.

Mr Prayut - who has held on to power with a tenacity few anticipated - appeared unruffled by the latest drama.

"Let the court decide," he told opponents before he appeared outside Parliament, brandishing a "rock on" hand sign at bemused reporters.

The court has played a key role at important moments in the upheavals that have convulsed Thai politics over the last 20 years, cancelling general election results in 2006 and 2014.

"I would not be surprised if the verdict of the Constitutional Court would be in favour of Prayut," political analyst Napisa Waitoolkiat at Naresuan University said.

"Uncle Tu", as Mr Prayut is known, has never enjoyed widespread popularity, and Thailand's years-long economic battering has only exacerbated a public sense of stagnation.

Earlier this year, the kingdom's royalist-military elite were spooked when Mr Chadchart Sittipunt, a former minister of the opposition Pheu Thai party, won a landslide victory in the Bangkok governor's election.

Ahead of the general election, Prime Minister Prayut's dismal popularity - with the candidate linked to him taking only 8 per cent of votes - is setting off alarm bells for his own MPs.

"If you see the behaviour of these politicians, they are not paying attention to the government now," Ms Waitoolkiat said.

"They are more concerned about the next election."

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE