Thai Coup Leader Prayuth Cements Power With Hand-Picked Assembly
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Thai junta leader Prayuth Chan-Ocha selected a 200-member National Legislative Assembly to act as the nation’s parliament before possible future elections, while maintaining absolute authority over the country.
The assembly, endorsed yesterday by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, will meet for the first time on Aug. 7, according to a statement in the Royal Gazette. The members, more than half of them military personnel, are tasked with choosing a prime minister and cabinet ministers, under an interim constitution introduced last week that gives Prayuth power to take any action he deems necessary without fear of prosecution.