But the road may not be as smooth as expected, Pheu Thai party caretaker secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai has warned.

“Don’t ever daydream of [returning as the prime minister],” Phumtham told The Nation in an exclusive interview.

He pointed to Myanmar, where the military regime set regulations to block the then-opposition of Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy, which won a landslide victory in the 2015 election.

“You can learn a lesson from Myanmar. The military controlling the government for more than 50 years eventually had to give power to Suu Kyi,” he said.

Under the 2017 charter, senators can join MPs to propose to suspend the rule requiring prime ministerial candidates to come from political party lists, paving the way for an “outsider” prime minister to be selected. Dubbed the “military party”, the 250 senators, who will be selected by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), are regarded as a crucial support for Prayut to become the next prime minister.

However, Phumtham dismissed such a scenario.

“I don’t see how Prayut will become prime minister again, unless he runs in an election. Which party or who will nominate his name? Pheu Thai will definitely not,” he said.

Besides, the junta had failed to solve the crisis and various problems after staging the coup in 2014 to overthrow the Yingluck Shinawatra government, he said.

After more than three years of ruling under special powers, the military had answered the question of whether it is capable of running the country, he said. Ruling the country involves economics and social issues, not just security, he said.

Phumtham suggested that the junta talk to people on the street to understand that they are still suffering from bread-and-butter issues and wanted an election to be held as soon as possible.

“If you [the NCPO] cannot do that, you have to admit it. And go back to the barracks. Your expertise is as soldiers and taking care of security. If an elected government fails to perform, they would resign and let the people cast their votes [in an election] again,” he said.

The junta has pledged that an election will be held following the “road map to democracy”, and it is tentatively scheduled for late next year. However, Pheu Thai, the former ruling party, was not certain that the vote would be held, Phumtam said.

“What is obvious is uncertainty. The junta always creates ‘conditions’ for the election. First, they said they were waiting for the organic laws, and when the laws were about to completed, they said if ‘no reconciliation, then no election’,” Phumtham said.

He also urged the junta leaders to return governance to a normal state of affairs.

“The answer today is not who wanted whom to become prime minister, but to release the country from this undemocratic trap and enable it to be acknowledged by the international community to move it forward,” he said.

On the contrary, people in power tended to look for an “exception” or “crisis” to find an excuse, he said.

“We think the attempt to find an ‘abnormal’ way is a crisis for the country. And we don’t see any obstacles for the country to move forward – unless some people still enjoy power, want to perpetuate their own power and do not want to resume a normal system for the country,” he said.

Speaking of the possibility of a national unity government after the next election, Phumtham said in his opinion politicians in the House of Representatives could successfully agree on a prime ministerial candidate nominated by political parties without needing an “outsider” prime minister.

“Unless there is a huge crisis, for example. World War Three or a tsunami, we may need a national unity government,” he said.

However, he insisted his party would not join such a government formed by unelected military officials.

As for Pheu Thai’s future after the fugitive former prime minister Yingluck fled the country, critics have questioned if her escape would spell the end of the “Shinawatra era” in the party. He said his party had several figures who could serve as the next party leader, including Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, Chaturon Chaisang, Phongthep Thepkanjana, Bhokin Palakula and Chaikasem Nitisiri.