Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's controversial tenure is set to become another political timebomb that might plunge the country into crisis.
According to the military-sponsored 2017 constitution, a prime minister's tenure is capped at eight years maximum. Gen Prayut, who staged a coup that ousted an elected government in 2014, has run the country for more than seven years. By Aug 24 next year, he will have been in power -- as junta leader and head of a government -- for a full eight years. His four-year term after the 2019 poll will end in 2023.
Gen Prayut's tenure has caused a debate: when should the counting begin? His opponents and the pro-democracy movement are adamant that he should step down next year when his eight-year tenure is complete.
Their argument is based on the principle that, as the country's leader, Gen Prayut has moral obligations to set a good example, abiding by the charter's will. Besides, they believe his leadership has deepened the country's conflicts. Recent polls suggest that due to the administration's poor performance, public confidence has substantially dwindled.
Gen Prayut's supporters, however, argue that the eight-year limit is not applicable to the army chief turned politician. Instead, they said the counting should begin on the day he received royal endorsement as the premier, after the 2017 charter took effect, which was June 9, 2019.
Udom Rathamrit, a member of the now-defunct Constitutional Drafting Committee, insisted the 2017 charter is no problem for Gen Prayut. Without retroactive effect, the supreme law allows him to complete his second term by 2027. He tenure as head of the junta was accorded by an interim charter that is now null and void.
This is a dilemma. If Gen Prayut chooses to ignore the limit, it means he will intentionally breach the charter. In that case, there may be upheaval.
The opposition bloc vows to file a case with the Constitutional Court and that cannot be done before Aug 24 next year.
But there can be technical problems if it waits until the very day to file the petition. In particular, should the court rule against the PM, it means he and his cabinet will have to reduce their role to that of a caretaker government, with Deputy Prime Minister Prawit in charge ad interim.
In that case, there will be a dangerous vacuum in politics, given that a caretaker government does not have full power, meaning it cannot dissolve parliament or call for new elections. The parliament will have to elect a new premier, with three available candidates from three parties, namely Anutin Charnvirakul, Chaikasem Nitisiri and Abhisit Vejjajiva -- and the term of the new government will be short, around eight months -- the leftover tenure of the Prayut administration.
Gen Prayut and his supporters should take into consideration the will of the 2017 charter which aims to prevent political domination and power abuse such as during the time of Thaksin Shinawatra, who abused power by revising laws and regulations to serve himself and his circle.
It's obvious the CDC under Meechai Ruchupan wanted to avoid this predicament by placing the tenure limit. As a leader, Gen Prayut must show political spirit, and set a good example, respecting the will of the constitution which already gives him a certain advantage over his opponents, that is the support of a 250-member Senate. No matter how he decides, the prime minister should place the country's interest before himself.
