TOKYO, Feb 9 – Thai Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday assured the Japanese authorities that the next general election would be held in one year.
On the second day of his visit to Japan at the invitation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Gen Prayut met Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Japanese health and labor minister and chair of the Thailand-Japan Parliamentary Friendship League at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo this morning.
At the meeting, Gen Prayut confirmed that the next general election would be held in one year, that laws would be enforced fairly, that authority would not be abused, but that his government had to exercise control actions in some cases to ensure national progress.
Gen Prayut asked the Thailand-Japan Parliamentary Friendship League to help communicate what his government is doing to the international community.
“The Thai government will do whatever it takes to organise an election that is internationally recognized. Thailand is developing its strong democracy to have an election in one year. The second phase of the national reform roadmap is on its way and it takes time. I assure that I will do my best to develop bilateral and regional relations,” the prime minister said.
He promised to take good care of Japanese tourists and business operators in Thailand and said that his government fairly enforced laws and did not violate human rights or abuse its authority.
“I just do not want to see a conflict during the reform process. There are groups of people who do not understand, so understanding must be quickly created with groups having different opinions,” the prime minister said. (MCOT online news)
