Thailand elections not for a yr, says coup leader

The leader of Thailand’s military coup has said elections will not be held for more than a year, to allow time for political reconciliation and reform. In a televised address, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha called on all sides to co-operate and stop protesting. He repeated warnings against any resistance to the military. The Thai army seized power on May 22, and detained senior politicians for several days saying stability had to be restored after months of unrest. In his first public address since the coup, Gen Prayuth said: “The (ruling military regime) have a timeframe of one year and three months to move towards elections, ‘Enough time has been wasted on conflict.’ Gen Prayuth said a first phase of about three months would focus on ‘reconciliation’ with a cabinet and new draft constitution put in place. Reforms would then be introduced over a second, year-long, period and only after this could elections be held. ‘Give us time to solve the problems for you. Then the soldiers will step back to look at Thailand from afar,’ he added. Gen Prayuth has previously warned that if protests continued he would have no choice but to use force, according to a news agency.