Anti-Prayut rallyists camp out at Govt House
Protesters rallying against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha camped out for the night at Government House on Tuesday to demand he step down immediately, insisting that his 8-year tenure is up.
At around 10pm, the group marched from Democracy Monument in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district and gathered in front of Dusit district’s Rajavinit Mathayom School, which is located next to Government House.
The path to Government House via Chamai Maruchet Bridge has been blocked by containers and steel fences, while crowd-control police have been deployed about 100 metres away from the rally to monitor the situation.
Protests leaders took turns giving speeches on stage, attacking the Prayut administration for its job through eight years since he first took the premiership in 2014. Rally leaders also asked participants to maintain a peaceful gathering and avoid using violence against police.
Most rallyists dispersed at around midnight, but some spent the night on the footpath to resume their protest on Wednesday.
As the gathering on Tuesday concluded, the demonstrators dispersed from their site at Rajavinit Mathayom School to allow traffic to resume as normal.
The protesters believe Wednesday (August 24) is the last day Prayut can legitimately remain in office, since Article 158 of the Constitution states: “The prime minister shall not hold office for more than eight years in total, whether or not consecutively.”
However, what is widely disputed is when exactly did Prayut’s eight-year tenure commence.
Many insist his term started when he first assumed the premiership on August 24, 2014, following a military coup he led in May that year.
Others argue his tenure began only on April 6, 2017, when the current Constitution came into force.
And a third group feels it should be counted from June 9, 2019 – when Prayut assumed the premiership following a general election in March that year.
