When the next election will take place is impossible to predict due to the regime's apparent desire to hang on to power as well as a factor which "cannot be mentioned," according to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, quoted by a source in the Pheu Thai Party.
The timing of the election is subject to many factors, the former prime minister said. One of them is the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)'s desire to stay in power longer. There is also the factor that "cannot be mentioned," Thaksin was quoted by the source. He did not elaborate.
Thaksin said he believed the NCPO would stay on beyond the election roadmap it promises. The election deadline has been extended by three months until February next year. The National Legislative Assembly voted on Jan 25 to extend enforcement of the organic bill governing the election of MPs by another 90 days. This would effectively delay the poll until February next year, which has raised the ire of many politicians. The source said Thaksin made the remarks during a recent meeting with former Pheu Thai MPs in China.
Thaksin said the more the NCPO tries to hold on to power, the more pressure it will endure to organise a speedy election. The catalysts would include malpractices by government insiders over graft and growing demands from people for a return to democracy.
The NCPO has tried to contain the situation which is spinning out of control. If it cannot keep a lid on problems that threaten stability, it may opt to exercise a special power to set up a government free of political parties. Alternatively, the regime might also opt to stage a "self-coup" to clear the decks and form a completely new government. However, a self-coup would be hard to bring about as the regime would come under immense pressure from within and outside the country, according to Thaksin.
The source said Thaksin and his younger sister, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, had left China. The sibling former prime ministers are currently in Hong Kong. After that, they will travel to Singapore to meet another group of former Pheu Thai MPs before returning to Dubai or the United Kingdom.