BANGKOK, Sept 29: Thailand’s ruling junta has picked a former army chief to be the new prime minister, a government official said on Friday, more than a week after the coup that ousted Thaksin Shinawatra.

At the same time, the military — which refused to confirm or deny the name of their reported pick — said it was reserving the right to sack the premier under an interim constitution due to be published this weekend.

General Surayud Chulanont, 63, now an adviser to the revered king, had been chosen as the successor to Mr Thaksin, state-run Radio Thailand reported on its website.

The choice was ‘quite certain’, it quoted her as saying, adding that he ‘is the most suitable for the job, given his qualification and his seniority’.

Gen Surayud’s name was also splashed across the Thai media, although a military source said he had in fact turned the offer down.

The junta’s secretary general threw his support behind Gen Surayud and said he figured ‘on the list’ but that no names had been sent for royal approval.

“If it is Gen Surayud, I like him and I respect him,” Gen Winai Phattiyakul said. “He may be my choice, but I do not have the power to choose the prime minister.”

Gen Winai indicated Gen Surayud’s army past would not be a bar to getting the post of premier. ‘We really consider that a retired general is a civilian,’he said.

Thailand’s new military leaders pledged after taking power on Sept 19 to appoint a new premier within two weeks to guide the country towards elections in October next year.

“The endorsement of the prime minister and handing down of the Royal Command is expected to take place on Sunday at Government House,” said junta spokesman Palangoon Klaharn.

The other main candidate has been former World Trade Organisation chief and current head of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, Supachai Panitchpakdi.

Whoever their choice, the generals have reserved the right in their interim constitution to sack him.—AFP