Thailand’s new king has signed an army-drafted constitution that sets the country on the path to elections while cementing the grip of the military over any future government.



The ruling generals, who took power in a 2014 coup, have promised to restore democracy but have been vague about the exact timeline. The signing of the state charter on Thursday means polls are now, at least according to the official plan, due to be held in 2018.

Although a previous draft of the constitution was voted on in a nationwide referendum last year, the copy that King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 64, signed into law has not been seen by the Thai public.

After ascending to the throne after the death of his widely revered father, Bhumibol Adulyadej, last October, the new monarch made a rare intervention into politics in January to request constitutional amendments relating to his powers.

Thailand’s prime minister, Prayuth Chan-o-cha, said the changes had “nothing to do with the rights and freedom of the people”.

Some alterations have been referred to by various government sources, including whether royal edicts should be countersigned by a government minister. Another change is allegedly to allow the king, who has spent much of the past few years in Germany and still does, to travel abroad without appointing a regent to rule in his absence.



The newly endorsed constitution will not be released publicly until it is published in the Royal Gazette, at which point it becomes law.

In a television broadcast, Vajiralongkorn was seen in a medal-covered white suit signing the document, part of an ornate royal ceremony not observed in almost five years.

“The constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand is promulgated,” an officer with the Bureau of Royal Scribes and Royal Decorations said at the ceremony, on behalf of the king. “May the Thai people be united in following and protecting the constitution to maintain democracy and their sovereignty.”

The Thai royal guard salute the king. Photograph: Narong Sangnak/EPA

Monks at temples throughout the country simultaneously recited prayers and rang bells while the army, navy and air force conducted a 21-gun salute.

In the five months since ascending the throne, Vajiralongkorn – yet to win the adoration his father built during seven decades on the throne – has made several political moves.

He reshuffled the royal household and powerful privy council, including retiring several of his father’s senior advisors while promoting military officials. With an army education, including the ability to fly a fighter jet, he is seen as having a good working relationship with the generals running the country.

Thailand’s monarchs have semi-divine status. Visitors to the king, including the highest government members, must prostrate themselves in his presence. Open discussion of a royal figure is illegal under Thailand’s strict “lèse majesté” laws and some critics have been handed decades-long jail times.

The new monarch has also delved into Thailand’s Buddhist structures, with parliament restoring his power to make appointments of the country’s highest religious position, the supreme patriarch.

“The actions by Thailand’s king today demonstrate that in the few short months since he has taken power he is not only seeking to manage the military junta but also enhance the powers of monarchy over the country,” said Paul Chambers, from Thailand’s Naresuan University.

“Through the amendment of laws, Thailand’s new king is seeking to centralise his clout as a more absolutist monarch than was his father in terms of monarchical ties to the military junta, institution of Buddhism, privy council and any future sitting government.”

The charter is Thailand’s 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932. It gives extra powers to the constitutional court, making it easier to impeach a civilian leader. It will also create an army-appointed upper house, with six seats reserved for the military. A proportional voting system will reduce the influence of major parties.

The lengthy process for drafting and implementing new charter has also been used by the junta as an explanation for a vague and regularly changing timeline towards promised polls.

Women pray while holding an image of the late Thai king, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Photograph: AFP/Getty

In a meeting organised for journalists in Bangkok last month, a spokesman for the junta, Lt Gen Werachon Sukondhapatipak, gave an hour-long speech with no mention of elections. Instead, he talked of an army-drafted 20-year-plan that would be legally binding for future elected governments.

Asked when elections might be held, he first said 19 months after the king’s coronation, which is due this year. He then corrected himself to say 19 months after the constitution is promulgated.

Thailand’s history is one of fractious political battles between the military and elected governments, with a dozen successful coups that are often followed by army rewrites of the constitution.

In the past two decades, the fight has become deeply bitter, especially between the military and its city-based elite and the Shinawatra family, which has won elections with the support of rural populations.

Former leader Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a 2006 coup; his sister, Yingluck, was also removed by the military in 2014 after three years as prime minister.

The army accuses their family of corruption, charges the siblings deny, and the constitution is seen by many as an attempt to prevent the Shinawatras or their allies from returning to power.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report