Commander-in-chief of the Thai army General Chalermchai Sittisat (Photo: AFP/VNA) Bangkok (VNA) – The army chief of Thailand has said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha needs to retain the power to issue executive orders regardless of legislative and judicial agencies for the sake of security and peace in the country.
The power was enshrined in Section 44 of the 2014 interim Constitution and is now incorporated into Section 265 of the 2017 charter.
General Chalermchai Sittisat, Commander-in-chief of the Thai army, said the security situation has been fairly stable although anti-government elements were staging movements “to stir up trouble”.
He said the government needs Section 44 powers intact so it can assert firm control over national security and ensure a smooth arrangement for the coronation of King Vajiralongkorn, also known as Rama X.
On April 6, King Rama X signed the 2017 Constitution, which is the 20th charter since the end of Thailand’s absolute monarchy in 1932.
The new Constitution was approved by 61.4 percent of Thai voters in a referendum on August 7, 2016. It was supported by Thais in the capital city and the central region while most of voters in other regions, including Muslim-majority southern Thailand, voted against it.-VNA
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