Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan on 7 December  reiterated that the junta will maintain its 3-year-old ban on political activities.

Thai police patrol around the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The government has yet to discuss it, he said, adding that he himself does not see any readiness to lift the ban.

However, the Deputy PM affirmed that the Thai Government will stick with the roadmap to return to democracy, with the highlight being the general election slated for late 2018.

Prawit’s comment came after Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda, who has been working to prepare for local elections, said he might ask Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha to consider lifting the ban.

The ban followed the 2014 coup.  Accordingly, all kinds of political gatherings of five or more people are illegal.

(Source: VNA)