National police chief Somyot Poompunmuang is expected to face the difficult task of deciding who will succeed him before he retires at the end of September.
Police chief Somyot Pumpunmuang is due to retired in October, and give up his office to a successor, probably one of two men profiled below.
Two of his deputies have now emerged as potential candidates. One is Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen, Pol Gen Somyot's classmate at the Police Cadet Academy's Class 31, and another is Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda, who was said to have played a key part in supporting Pol Gen Somyot for the police chief position last year.
Pol Gen Somyot was the first police chief nominated by his predecessor under a new law implemented following the military takeover in May of last year.
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Pol Gen Somyot was picked by Pol Gen Watcharapol Prasanratchakit for the top post in August last year.
The new legislation governing the board of the Royal Thai Police authorises the police chief to propose his successor's name to the board members, a move seen as one of the first attempts to repel political influence over police forces.
Now Pol Gen Somyot has until Aug 30 to propose a new person for the chief's post and the man must be among his deputies.
Pol Gen Chakthip, who was in the 36th class at the Police Cadet Academy, was said to have fully backed Pol Gen Somyot for the top job during the nomination last year.
According to observers, the military has more trust in Pol Gen Chakthip than other police officers.
On the left, Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen, popular when he was the anti-drug chief, but with troublesome Pheu Thai Party ties. On the right, Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda, not popular inside the police force, but supposedly trusted by the army. (Bangkok Post file photos)
Over the past year, both Pol Gen Chakthip and Pol Gen Somyot have worked together tackling many key cases.
On the other hand, Pol Gen Pongsapat is also a friend who works closely with Pol Gen Somyot.
According to sources at the Police Cadet Academy's Class 31, Pol Gen Somyot is willing to support Pol Gen Pongsapat for the top job, but this would be difficult as Pol Gen Pongsapat's image is clearly aligned with the Pheu Thai Party.
The Yingluck Shinawatra government trusted Pol Gen Pongsapat, who was promoted to both deputy police chief and secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) in her administration.
The party also sent Pol Gen Pongsapat as its candidate for the Bangkok governor election in 2013.
Democrat candidate MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra narrowly defeated Pol Gen Pongsapat, though he succeeded in grabbing more than one million votes.
After the loss, Pol Gen Pongsapat was still allowed to take up the same posts he held before.
Since the May 22 coup, high-ranking police officers known to have been aligned with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra have been removed from key posts.
Pol Gen Pongsapat also met the same fate as he was removed from the ONCB and his chance of becoming the police chief appeared to fade away.
According to observers, Pol Gen Somyot may try to convince Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, his deputy Prawit Wongsuwon and other members of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) that Pol Gen Pongsapat can work well with those in power and his past ties with Pheu Thai and Thaksin may no longer be relevant.
If such issues are sorted out and certain conditions accepted, Pol Gen Pongsapat's chances of becoming the new police chief will rise, said observers.
Pol Gen Somyot may also feel uneasy turning his back on Pol Gen Chakthip, who played a key part in his promotion to the top police job.
Although Pol Gen Chakthip still has four years before retirement, this nomination would be his best chance to reach the top position.
The police chief may choose to settle the issue by talking to the two candidates, and this would help prevent conflicts within the police force, observers said.
If it is certain that the NCPO will stay in power until August next year, Pol Gen Pongsapat may have a chance to step up to the top police post first and then Pol Gen Chakthip would have to wait for another year to assume the position.
But if the NCPO exits the scene before then, the fight for the post could intensify and Pol Gen Chakthip's chances would increase.