Thailand’s junta rubber-stamps army chief Prayut as new PM

Thailand's junta-picked national assembly today expectedly chose coup leader General Prayut Chan-ocha as the country's prime minister in a one-horse race that entrenches the military's hold on power. 

Nobody in the rubber-stamp legislature opposed the selection of the army chief, who ousted the elected government in a bloodless takeover on 22 May.

The move by the top general to shed his uniform and take the premiership is seen as cementing the military's control of the politically turbulent nation.

The junta has ruled out holding new elections before October 2015, despite appeals from the United States and the European Union for a return to democracy.

General Prayut, who is due to retire as army chief in September, is seen as a staunch opponent of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose overthrow in an earlier coup in 2006 triggered Thailand's long-running political crisis.

Thaksin, the elder brother of subsequent PM Yingluck Shinawatra, fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid prison for a corruption conviction. The army rulers say they want to reform Thailand to end years of political turbulence and street violence, but critics see the takeover as an attempt to wipe out Thaksin's influence.

The junta has vowed to remain in place in parallel to the future government, which will be nominated by General Prayut as prime minister. He was backed by 191 members of the 197-strong assembly, with three abstentions and three voters absent. No other candidate stood against him.

General Prayut's appointment must be approved by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, although royal endorsement is seen as a formality.

The army chief, who is seen as a fervent royalist, was not present for the vote because he was attending a military ceremony outside Bangkok.

He gave a hint of his political ambitions when he swapped his uniform for a suit and tie to appear in parliament on Monday to oversee the approval of the national budget, which was waved through with no opposition.

General Prayut is often described as the architect of an army crackdown on a pro-Thaksin ''Red Shirt'' rally in Bangkok in 2010 that left dozens dead.

Before seizing power, the golf lover and father of twin daughters had said he would not allow Thailand to become another ''Ukraine or Egypt''.

Thaksin, who is reviled by much of Thailand's Bangkok-based royalist elite, lives in Dubai, but he or his parties have won every election since 2001.

Since seizing power the junta has abrogated the constitution, curtailed civil liberties under martial law and summoned hundreds of opponents, activists and academics for questioning.

It has also launched a ''return happiness to the people'' public relations campaign in parallel with the crackdown on dissent.

The United Nations' human rights office on Wednesday warned of ''chilling effects'' on freedom of expression under the junta, following recent arrests and jail sentences for insulting the monarchy.

Critics say the ''royal slur'' legislation has been politicised, noting that many of those charged in recent years were linked to the 'Red Shirts', who are broadly supportive of Thaksin.