Is Thailand Safe? 2017 Elections To Be Coup D'Etat-Free, Military Official Vows Ahead Of Vote

There is no chance of a coup d'edat happening in Thailand after the general elections slated for later this year, a senior a member of the Thailand military government’s general assembly assured local reporters on Monday. However, political activists were skeptical the election would even happen at all since it has been pushed every year since the current military junta heading the government took power in 2014.

"I can confirm that there won't be a coup. What would be a reason for having to have the coup?" Gen. Somjet Boontanom said Monday. "When elections are held, everyone must accept the rules. The military will not reject the polls."

Political activists in Thailand have grown accustomed to the military meddling in the country’s attempts to become a full-fledged democracy. Their apparent trepidation about the fragility of the upcoming elections may have surfaced on Dec. 25 when a Junta Chief, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, told local reporters that the 2017 elections might have to be put on hold until March or April of 2018. He cited laws in the country’s new constitution that would not have been approved in time for the vote.

Thailand’s last general election was in 2011. Since the most recent coup in 2014, in which the then-army chief and current Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha gained power, the elusive following election has been pushed back every single year. The current junta has routinely promised to restore civilian rule since overthrowing the elected one.

Before becoming the head of the Thai federal government in 2014, Prayet similarly declared there wouldn’t be a coup. But only a matter of days passed until his military toppled the former government, issued two days of martial law and started drafting a constitution some think has provisions to keep the current military junta heading the government in power. Many Thais are questioning Boontanom’s statements, asking why he would even flirt with the idea of a coup, knowing that possibility is entrenched in the minds of so many at this point.

"If the army says something like that it means they will do the opposite for sure," Eakapong Leesinla commented on Facebook, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

In accordance to rules within the constitution drafted by the military junta in August, Boonthanom said specific election laws aimed at curbing political corruption need to be approved by the Thai parliament before the 2017 election can take place. The laws were created after decades of legislative ineffectiveness from the federal government, which was highlighted by two coups since 2006. They would supposedly limit the influence of political parties while also giving the military junta the ability to appoint members to the Thai Senate.

Thailand has experienced 11 successful military coups since 1932, while also seeing 7 attempted ones.