Thai coup leader General Prayut Chan-O-Cha named prime minister

(AFP) - Thailand's junta-picked national assembly on Thursday chose coup leader General Prayut Chan-O-Cha as prime minister in a one-horse race that entrenched the military's hold on power.

Nobody in the rubber-stamp legislature opposed the selection of the 60-year-old army chief, who ousted an elected government in a bloodless takeover on May 22.

The move by the top general to shed his uniform and take the premiership is seen as cementing the military's control of the politically turbulent nation.