The Thai Military’s takeover of the government on 22 May afternoon following the declaration of Martial Law on 20 May 2014, is seen as a move to support the royalist elites to oust the Puea Thai government. Political divide among the Thai people has deepened and the political uncertainty will continue.

The Thai military’s takeover of the government on 22 May 2014 was foreshadowed by its declaration of martial law on 20 May.

The Thai political situation had reached a critical stage since the Constitutional Court dismissed then Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and nine Ministers from their posts on 7 May 2014. Although Puea Thai Party replaced Yingluk with her former deputy Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan as acting caretaker Prime Minister they insisted that it remained as the caretaker government and called on the Elections Commission to hold fresh elections initially on 20 July and then 3 August. This dismissal of an elected Puea Thai Prime Minister by the Constitutional Court for the third time since 2006, created great unease among the pro-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UFDC) better known as the Red Shirts.

… Tan Seng Chye is a Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. He was formerly Singapore’s Ambassador to Thailand.