Prayut can retain power without standing for election 

One wonders is it possible the Thai leaders simply have less vision and intelligence than their neighbours? 
It is impressive what Thailand has been able to achieve, but if they had not been an “industrial vassal state” of Japan all of this time, how much of that would have been possible? There are 7,000 Japanese companies either manufacturing, distributing or operating on some level here. 
Perhaps some of this myopia was due to the extremely inward looking perspective, the lack of a world view that the others might have gotten through either colonialisation, more of an awareness of the planet at large, and the study of world history and geography? The false nationalism with which the Thais have been indoctrinated no doubt has held the nation back, on so many different levels. 
There is a good chance we have seen the last Thai coup of our lifetimes. They staged nearly all of the previous coups with the moral authority of the big man, and the people more or less went along with it. That is no longer the case, on any level. 
spidermike007
Which is better: 
Head of the appointed senate?
Head of the super board that governs the policy and budgets of all major government agencies over the next 20 years?
Or a miserable prime minister? 
Why anyone would even consider the post is beyond my understanding.
greenchair
It’s interesting to see what the result will be if there is ever a political party formed by the military.
wvavin
They would win. What would you do when armed men of the state go from house to house “campaigning” against a backdrop of jailings? Let the recent constitution vote be your guide...
baboon
He would run in the election to be voted for what?
The next prime minister will be unelected just like this one. The PM is chosen by the military-appointed Senate, which reserves seats for the military.  The chosen PM does not have to be associated with any party and indeed doesn’t even need to be a politician. The Senate has 250 unelected members.  Now I wonder who could be chosen as the next PM!
HHtel
ThaiVisa