Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Tuesday said he will retire from politics, nine years after the former general seized power in a military coup.
His announcement comes ahead of a much-anticipated vote for Thailand's new prime minister this Thursday. Chan-ocha will play no part in that vote because he, along with his conservative United Thai Nation party, suffered an election rout in mid-May.
"From now on, I would like to announce my retirement from politics. By resigning from the Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party ," he said in a statement on Facebook, according to a Google translation.
Chan-ocha said he would stay in a caretaker role until a new prime minister is elected. His retirement is likely to put to rest any speculation that he would still remain in a permanent capacity.
The country's young and urban population voted to give the liberal progressive Move Forward Party an unprecedented majority in the new lower house of representatives. This backing nevertheless falls short of the 376 votes that party leader Pita Limjaroenrat to stake his claim as Thailand's next prime minister.
Limjaroenrat has 312 from his eight-party coalition in the 500-seat lower house, which means he would still require the support of about 64 more votes from the 250-member Senate — a body appointed by Chan-ocha and the royalist military establishment, following the coup of 2014.