Over 90% of Thais believe Prayut must go, survey shows

The “People’s Voice”, a network of media outlets and academics, held a mobile phone vote about Prayut’s tenure on Saturday and Sunday. Of the 374,063 votes collected, 93.17 per cent voted “no” to Prayut serving as PM for longer than eight years, while 6.83 per cent said “yes”.

Of the votes collected, 369,484 were cast locally while 4,579 came from outside Thailand.

In response to the overwhelming “no” votes, the network said, “it is up to the Constitution Court to decide whether Prayut can stay in office after August 24”.

It added that this vote aims to allow people, who are owners of their sovereignty, to share their opinions.

Critics are demanding that Prayut, who doubles as defence minister, step down before Wednesday when they say his eight-year term as stipulated in the Constitution expires.

Opposition MPs have submitted a petition for the Constitutional Court to rule on when Prayut’s eight-year tenure should expire.

Article 158 of the Constitution states that: “The prime minister shall not hold office for more than eight years in total, whether or not consecutively.”

However, the start date for Prayut’s eight-year tenure is widely disputed.

Many insist that Prayut’s term started when he first assumed premiership on August 24, 2014, after ousting Yingluck Shinawatra’s elected government in a military putsch led by him in May. Others say his tenure began when the current Constitution was enforced on April 6, 2017, while a third group claims Prayut’s premiership actually began on June 9, 2019, when he was elected.

The People’s Voice network comprises academics from eight universities, namely Thammasat, National Institute of Development Administration (Nida), Srinakharinwirot, Rangsit, Burapha, Chiang Mai, Prince of Songkla, and Ubon Ratchathani University — plus eight online media outlets including Thai Rath TV, Workpoint News, PPTV, the Standard, the Matter, the Momentum, and the Reporters.