After 9 Years of Rule Following the Coup... Prayut, Thai Prime Minister, Announces Retirement

Retirement Finally After Party's Defeat in General Election

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Prayut Chan-o-cha, who rose to the position of Prime Minister through a coup and ruled Thailand for nine years, is stepping down from politics.

On the 11th (local time), according to local media such as Thai PBS and major foreign news outlets, Prime Minister Prayut issued a statement saying, "I will quit politics and leave my affiliated party, Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party (RTSC)."

He self-assessed, "As Prime Minister, I have worked for nine years to strengthen national stability and peace, overcoming many obstacles both domestically and internationally."

Previously, in May 2014, Prayut, then Chief of the Army Staff, led a coup and assumed the position of Prime Minister. The military held a general election in March 2019, about five years after the coup, to transfer power to civilian rule. At that time, Prayut ran as a candidate for the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) and was elected Prime Minister.

Last year, there was controversy over Prayut's term in office. The opposition raised issues claiming that Prayut's term exceeded the constitutional maximum of eight years. At that time, the Thai Constitutional Court suspended Prayut from his duties until a ruling was made. Later, the court ruled that the term should be counted from the promulgation of the new constitution in 2017, allowing him to maintain his position as Prime Minister.

In January of this year, he left the PPRP and joined the RTSC, once again challenging the Prime Minister position. According to the Constitutional Court's ruling, even if he was re-elected Prime Minister, he could serve for two more years. However, in the general election, RTSC won only 36 seats. Before the election, Prayut had said, "If I lose the election, I will quit politics and go home to rest." But after the election, RTSC stated, "He will not leave the party and will remain as chief strategist to continue working with the party." Nevertheless, Prayut has ultimately decided to retire from politics.

Through this statement, Prayut said he will remain in the Prime Minister position only until the next government is formed. Thailand will elect a Prime Minister at a joint session of the upper and lower houses on the 13th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.