BANGKOK—Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced on Tuesday his retirement from politics, nine years after he took power in a military coup, and promised to stay in charge only temporarily.
His announcement was widely expected after his military-backed United Thai Nation party was thumped in a May 14 election, in which it won just 36 of the 500 house seats. He will remain caretaker premier until a new government is formed.
The former army chief, a staunch royalist, led a junta until an election in 2019 and was chosen by parliament to remain prime minister for four more years, an outcome his opponents insist was pre-determined….