Coup came after Yingluck and ministers were dismissed

Steve CM is not entirely correct to say that General Prayut’s coup overthrew an elected government because “it did not resign – nor was it lawfully dismissed”. The timeline of events would suggest otherwise.
On December 9, 2013, Yingluck dissolved parliament and called for a general election on February 2. By that date the country was divided, with one significant sector of PDRC voters calling for a boycott and successfully frustrating the election process. Thereafter, Yingluck continued in her caretaker role.
On May 7, 2014, the Constitutional Court dismissed Yingluck and members of her cabinet from their duties after ruling they had acted unconstitutionally in transferring Thawil Pliensri from his post as National Security Council secretary-general in 2011. The transfer had paved way for Yingluck’s brother-in-law to become police chief.
On the same day, then-commerce minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan was appointed caretaker premier. Yingluck was the first Thai prime minister to be dismissed judicially rather than by a coup or vote of no-confidence. The country had become ungovernable and some believed civil war was inevitable.
On May 22 Prayut called a meeting for all political forces. The result offered a simple and dramatic lesson for all politicians: Never give the Army a chance to override a political solution. In politics, give and take is a game of respectability. Prayut asked government leader Chaikasem Nitisiri, a leading legal mind, to confirm that his government would not resign. “Not at this minute,” was the emphatic reply.
“Then, I am sorry, I have to take over power,” the general said. I would call that offering power to the Army on a silver platter. Well, at least the man was polite and apologised.
Was the coup justified? The answer is in the eye of the beholder!
Songdej Praditsmanont