PM Prayut says election date not up to him

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1522

Bangkok – Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has declined to announce a date for a general election, saying the timeframe will be determined by the law.

Asked by a group of reporters at the weekend, the Thai premier said he couldn’t be certain that the general election would take place by February 2019, given that several laws need to be taken into consideration, and added that he doesn’t have the power to overrule the National Legislative Assembly’s resolutions, nor can he override any laws.

He also declined to say if there would be other factors in the future that could delay the election.

Gen Prayut has pleaded with all sides not to read too much into the legislature’s decision to postpone the enactment of the Organic Members of Parliament Act by 90 days, and stressed that the lawmakers must have had good reason to do so.