Bangkok: A growing number of Thai politicians and analysts believe junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha intends to stay in power after elections he has promised will be held later this year.

Three-and-a-half years after toppling a democratically elected government, Prayuth has admitted for the first time he now sees himself as a politician – an occupation he has repeatedly belittled and blamed for Thailand's past problems and conflicts.

'No longer a soldier': Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ocha. Credit:AP

"I am no longer a soldier. Understood? I'm just a politician who used to be a soldier," he told reporters in Bangkok.

Thailand is one of several south-east Asian nations scheduled to hold elections this year. The ballots are likely to legitimise the consolidation of authoritarian power amid a backsliding of democracy and political freedoms across the region.