BANGKOK : Thailand's military chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said Wednesday he would hand power to an appointed prime minister within two weeks, and that democracy would be restored in a year.
At his first press briefing since seizing power from Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra late Tuesday, Sonthi also said the country's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej had nothing to do with the coup.
"An interim constitution will be drafted within two weeks, and during that time a new national assembly will be appointed, and a new prime minister will be appointed," Sonthi told reporters.
"I will resign as interim prime minister within two weeks, and now we are looking for the person who will become the new prime minister," he said.
"The potential candidates are politically neutral, and love democracy with the king as head of state," he said.
Sonthi said the government to be appointed by the military would be tasked with drafting a new constitution that would provide the framework for new general elections.
"By early next month, the interim constitution will be ready, which will allow the start of writing a new, permanent constitution. That process should take about one year," he said.
"The next general election will hopefully take place in October next year," he added.
Sonthi denied that the king was behind the coup.
"Nobody was behind us. We decided on our own, and we took care of it on our own. We decided within the last two days to stage a coup, because the people have called for it and also because of the mismanagement of the government," he said.
"The military has acted in line with the wishes of the people," he said. - AFP /dt