2015 has been a year of stillness in Thailand, at least in the political realm. The military staged a coup that ousted the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in May 2014. Throughout the year, the military regime of Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, who serves the prime minister, promised a number of projects claiming to put Thailand back on the democratic track. But these promises have proven to be empty.
There were two major events in 2015, which brought into question the sincerity of the junta in its endeavor to reform Thailand. The first was the failure of the constitutional drafting process. Tasked with writing a new constitution, the Constitutional Drafting Committees presented their charter to the military-elected parliamentarians, but it was disapproved. The gist of the constitution was in itself controversial.
It was designed to prevent powerful political parties, like that of Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra, from easily returning to power. This was because it encouraged independent candidates to run for parliamentary seats. They were expected to take a fair share of seats from the Shinawatras.