Junta leader Prayuth Chan-o-cha yesterday said military rule was officially over now that his government is set to take power.
In an order he said would be the last of his so-called National Council for Peace and Order, Prayuth on Tuesday said he would set aside the absolute power he granted himself upon seizing power five years ago, enshrined as “Article 44” of the interim constitution.
“I won’t use Article 44 again,” Prayuth said at the Government House where his interim cabinet was holding its final meeting.
The present constitution, written under military supervision and passed in a public referendum two years ago, includes a sunset clause that Prayuth’s absolute power would lapse upon installation of a new government.
It comes over three months since the March general election, the first held since the 2014 coup d’etat.
Prayuth’s order lifted impositions placed on the media but left in place extraordinary policing powers bestowed upon the military, such as empowering soldiers to take anyone into custody without legal review.
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