Political Cracks Widen

In July, army commander General Sonthi Boonyaratglin explicitly contradicted the country's prime minister, Surayud Chulanont, when he told reporters that elections may now be pushed back to early 2008. According to the general, this delay is based on concerns voiced by the president of the National Legislative Assembly, the army-appointed parliament, that the passage of the new charter would take longer than expected. The charter eventually met with approval not long after, but the comments did reveal a growing rift in Thailand's leadership. We hold on to our view that the timing of the elections will depend entirely on whether

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