Most people want an elected prime minister rather than an non-elected one after the next general, a survey has revealed.
The Bangkok Poll conducted by Bangkok University on Jan 17-19 approached 1,114 people aged 18 and over throughout the country.
Asked about the selection of an outsider prime minister under the new constitution, 70.6% said they only wanted an elected prime minister.
Another 29.4% said they could settle for an outsider prime minister if an elected one could not be chosen from among prime ministerial candidates from political parties' lists.
Asked whether Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha would have their support if they could vote for a prime minister right now, only 36.8% said they would back Gen Prayut to stay on as premier, compared with 52.8% in an opinion survey conducted in May last year.
About 35% said they would not support him while 28.4% abstained.
On the question of a "Thai-style democracy", 29.1% did not think this would bring any change to politics while 27.9% said that it would usher in a quasi-military government.
Asked about the organic bill on the election of MPs, 43.9% said it would create a new electoral system which attaches more importance to parties than individuals while 29.6% thought the bill would result in a lack of variety in parties' election campaign platforms.