A summary of my interview with respect to the 2019 Electoral Timeline
I personally do not believe the recent Thai electoral timeline, namely that general elections will be held on the 24th of February 2019. The primary reason is that the military-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) can still enforce Article 44 in order to protect its current political position.
The NCPO will continue to go ahead with the announced timeline as long as it maintains the ability to compete against any opposition parties with the help of military-allied parties at the polls.
The scheduled 2019 election cannot be described as either free or fair election as long as the NCPO remains active on the Thai political landscape. It is possible that Article 44 will be enforced in favour of parties allied to the military, at the expense of the military’s opposition.
