Alarms are sounding among democracy supporters in Thailand over six loaded questions to the public by the prime minister, a gambit many see as telegraphing the military junta’s intention to retain control beyond the next general election. Thailand will hold a general election in November 2018, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said last month, the most precise date he has given yet for the vote since taking power in a 2014 military coup. The military now controls 143 out of 250 parliamentary seats. Under the previous junta after the 2006 coup, the military held 67 out of 242 seats. The cabinet is stacked with soldiers. Out of the 36 cabinet members, 12 have military backgrounds. In 2006, only four military officers were among the 37 cabinet members.