The latest proposal by Somchai Sawaengkarn, a member of the coup-installed National Legislative Assembly (NLA), asking for a consensus from political parties for a further delay of the general election of another three months has been seen as a regime tactic to extend its grip on power. Such a proposal deserves to be condemned.
This coming May, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will mark its fourth year in charge since the coup d'etat of 2014. The NCPO and the mechanisms it set up to maintain power, the so-called "Five Rivers", have already overstayed their public welcome, even among the coup supporters. The longer they procrastinate, the more they damage the nation, politically and economically, and pave the way for their own downfall.
The regime, led by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, may claim that it has brought stability after a decade of political turmoil under colour-coded divisiveness which at times resulted in violence, deaths and injuries. But the calm on the surface is an illusion as the undercurrents remain fierce and forceful.
