Thailand may suspend its general election until April 2017 if the National Reform Council (NRC) does not ratify the new constitution draft during its meeting next month.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha in a meeting with the National Legislation Council (Source: VNA)
Thailand may suspend its general election until April 2017 if the National Reform Council (NRC) does not ratify the new constitution draft during its meeting next month, according to Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam.
Initially, the Thai junta government, which seized power after last year’s coup, declared its intent to hold the general election to restore democracy by the end of 2015 but rescheduled it for 2016 to have more time to implement reforms to stabilise the country.
Talking to the media on August 3, Wissanu mentioned the possibility of rescheduling the general election if reform proposals face opposition.
He said if the NRC vetoes the new constitution, a new list of drafters will be published followed by a referendum. Consequently, the election will have been delayed 19 months since September 2015.
According to Wissanu, if the new constitution draft is approved, a referendum will be held on January 10, 2016 and the general election will take place in September 2016.-VNA
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Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha in a meeting with the National Legislation Council (Source: VNA) 
