During the political crisis that began in November 2013 and involved the protests against the caretaker government of Yingluck, Prayuth claimed that the army was neutral,[9] and would not launch a coup. However, in May 2014, Prayuth launched a military coup against the government and since then assumed control of the country as NCPO leader.[10] He later issued an interim constitution granting himself sweeping powers and giving himself amnesty for staging the coup.[11] In August 2014, a military dominated national legislature whose members were handpicked by Prayuth elected him as the new prime minister.[12][13]