Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has hinted local elections and the Bangkok gubernatorial election will take place next year, after the upcoming royal ceremonies.
He said, "We will look into an appropriate time after the royal cremation ceremonies for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the coronation of His Majesty the King. So, we will talk about how to hold elections next year.
"I am asking people to be prepared. Everything will proceed according to the roadmap," he added.
Gen Prayut said he cannot prevent the elections from happening, including the election to select the Bangkok governor.
"We will have to look at the right time for the Bangkok gubernatorial election -- whether it should take place before or after the national elections. We will see," he said.
Gen Prayut, also head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said he has received some answers from people who responded to the four questions he presented to the public before the election takes place.
He said the feedback showed the majority of respondents support his government. The questions were criticised as a backdoor attempt by the government to seek public support for staying on after prolonging its grip on power.
"People are already aware of how every politician behaves," he said. Gen Prayut claimed, for instance, that his government could fix falling farm prices better than the previous governments. "If the politicians were to fix the problem in their way, how would they find the money to boost farm prices," he said.
The questions that Gen Prayut presented were whether people think they will have good governance as a result of the next election; if that is not the case, what would the people do; whether bad politicians should be given the chance to come back; and if it is right to hold elections without considering the country's future and other factors.