Thai ruler Prayuth Chan-ocha vows to keep democracy under control

From the day of Thailand's military coup last month, the nation's new ruler has promised unspecified reforms to restore stability and return to civilian rule and democracy. But General Prayuth Chan-ocha sees a striking obstacle to a "fully functional democracy" - elections.

According to the general, elections themselves have contributed to years of bitter political division and sometimes-violent street protests. The military says intractable turmoil forced it to step in and topple a government for the second time in a decade.

"We need to solve many issues, from administration to the budget system to corruption," Prayuth said in a recent radio address.

"And even the starting point of democracy itself - the election.

"Parliamentary dictatorship has to be removed. All these have caused conflict and unhappiness among Thai people."

The statement was the strongest sign yet of what many analysts suspect is the true aim of the May 22 coup: limiting the impact of future elections in Thailand by relying more on appointed institutions or some other formula to restrain majority rule.