Thailand's king signed a new constitution in a ceremony on Thursday, an essential step towards holding an election that the military government has promised to restore democracy after a 2014 coup.

In a nationwide broadcast, King Maha Vajiralongkorn was seen signing the constitution, giving it royal endorsement and setting in motion a process for Thailand's next general election, expected late next year.

The constitution is Thailand's 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics of army rule say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

The constitution is now due to be published in the Royal Gazette, after which it becomes law. </s> Image copyright Reuters

The king of Thailand has signed a new constitution that paves the way for a return to democracy but still gives the army an influential role in politics.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed the document at a ceremony in Bangkok.

It constrains future elected governments with an appointed senate, and commits governments to follow the military's 20-year development plan.

The last constitution was abolished after the military seized power nearly three years ago.

Critics claim the new document only allows for a partial, guided democracy.

It was approved by a referendum last August. Elections could now be held next year.

Thailand has had so many constitutions in its modern history - this is the 20th since 1932 - that many of them were introduced with little fanfare, reports the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok.

But King Vajiralongkorn, who succeeded his father last year, signalled royal approval for the new charter by requesting an elaborate ceremony for its signing.

The king had requested changes to the charter earlier this year that restore some significant areas of royal influence.

The edits remove a power that would have been granted to the constitutional court to call a meeting in the event of a political crisis.

A requirement that the king appoint a regent when he leaves the country was also removed. The king often spends time in Germany, where a son attends school.

The generals say they need to impose some limits on democratic practice in order to prevent the need for military coups in the future.

Thailand's military has a history of intervening in politics and has seized power 12 times since the end of the absolute monarchy - and the introduction of the first constitution - in 1932.

It has promised not to intervene after the next elections, which have been delayed many times. </s> Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step toward ending military rule.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency. Parts of the region voted against the new constitution at a referendum last year.

“The incidents are to create disturbances. They want to destroy the government’s credibility and create fear among people,” said Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for local security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and security forces said they did not know who was to blame.

On Thursday Thailand’s king signed a military-backed constitution into law, an essential step toward an election the junta has promised will restore democracy after the 12th successful coup in little over 80 years.

The new constitution is the Southeast Asian country’s 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

Voters in the most heavily Muslim parts of Thailand were among the few to reject the draft constitution in last year’s referendum.

Security forces said five bombs had exploded on electric poles, causing local power cuts, and there had been a number of tire-burning incidents.

Details were not immediately available of all the attacks, and a large number of coordinated attacks in the region is unusual.

A Malay Muslim separatist insurgency in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has claimed more than 6,500 lives since it escalated in 2004, according to independent monitoring group Deep South Watch.

On Monday, police reported what they described as the biggest attack by insurgents in the south in years. They said about 30 insurgents had fired more than 500 shots into a police booth.

In February, the government of the Buddhist-majority country struck a deal with MARA Patani, a long-standing umbrella group that claims to speak for the insurgents, but other separatists rejected it. </s> Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Otago Daily Times. </s> BANGKOK, April 7 (Reuters) - Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency. Parts of the region voted against the new constitution at a referendum last year.

"The incidents are to create disturbances. They want to destroy the government's credibility and create fear among people," said Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for local security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and security forces said they did not know who was to blame.

Thailand's king signed a military-backed constitution into law on Thursday, an essential step towards an election the junta has promised will restore democracy after the 12th successful coup in little over 80 years.

The new constitution is the Southeast Asian country's 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

Voters in the most heavily Muslim parts of Thailand were among the few to reject the draft constitution in last year's referendum.

Security forces said five bombs had exploded on electric poles, causing local power cuts, and there had been a number of tyre-burning incidents.

Details were not immediately available of all the attacks. A large number of co-ordinated attacks in the region is unusual.

A Malay Muslim separatist insurgency in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has claimed more than 6,500 lives since it escalated in 2004, according to independent monitoring group Deep South Watch.

On Monday, police reported what they described as the biggest attack by insurgents in the south in years. They said about 30 insurgents had fired more than 500 shots into a police booth.

In February, the government of the Buddhist-majority country struck a deal with MARA Patani, a long-standing umbrella group that claims to speak for the insurgents, but other separatists rejected it. (Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Writing by Matthew Tostevin; Editing by Michael Perry) </s> BANGKOK: Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency. Parts of the region voted against the new constitution at a referendum last year.

"The incidents are to create disturbances. They want to destroy the government's credibility and create fear among people," said Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for local security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and security forces said they did not know who was to blame.

Thailand's king signed a military-backed constitution into law on Thursday, an essential step towards an election the junta has promised will restore democracy after the 12th successful coup in little over 80 years.

The new constitution is the Southeast Asian country's 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

Voters in the most heavily Muslim parts of Thailand were among the few to reject the draft constitution in last year's referendum.

Security forces said five bombs had exploded on electric poles, causing local power cuts, and there had been a number of tyre-burning incidents.

Details were not immediately available of all the attacks. A large number of co-ordinated attacks in the region is unusual.

A Malay Muslim separatist insurgency in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has claimed more than 6,500 lives since it escalated in 2004, according to independent monitoring group Deep South Watch.

On Monday, police reported what they described as the biggest attack by insurgents in the south in years. They said about 30 insurgents had fired more than 500 shots into a police booth.

In February, the government of the Buddhist-majority country struck a deal with MARA Patani, a long-standing umbrella group that claims to speak for the insurgents, but other separatists rejected it. </s> Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency. Parts of the region voted against the new constitution at a referendum last year.

“The incidents are to create disturbances. They want to destroy the government’s credibility and create fear among people,” said Pramote Prom-in, spokesperson for local security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and security forces said they did not know who was to blame.

Thailand’s king signed a military-backed constitution into law on Thursday, an essential step towards an election the junta has promised will restore democracy after the 12th successful coup in little over 80 years.

The new constitution is the Southeast Asian country’s 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

Voters in the most heavily Muslim parts of Thailand were among the few to reject the draft constitution in last year’s referendum.

Security forces said five bombs had exploded on electric poles, causing local power cuts, and there had been a number of tyre-burning incidents.

Details were not immediately available of all the attacks. A large number of co-ordinated attacks in the region is unusual.

A Malay Muslim separatist insurgency in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has claimed more than 6,500 lives since it escalated in 2004, according to independent monitoring group Deep South Watch.

On Monday, police reported what they described as the biggest attack by insurgents in the south in years. They said about 30 insurgents had fired more than 500 shots into a police booth.

In February, the government of the Buddhist-majority country struck a deal with MARA Patani, a long-standing umbrella group that claims to speak for the insurgents, but other separatists rejected it. </s> Thai police on Friday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency. Parts of the region voted against the new constitution at a referendum last year.

“The incidents are to create disturbances. They want to destroy the government’s credibility and create fear among people,” said Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for local security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and security forces said they did not know who was to blame.

Thailand’s king signed a military-backed constitution into law on Thursday, an essential step towards an election the junta has promised will restore democracy after the 12th successful coup in little over 80 years.

The new constitution is the Southeast Asian country’s 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and critics say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

Voters in the most heavily Muslim parts of Thailand were among the few to reject the draft constitution in last year’s referendum.

Security forces said five bombs had exploded on electric poles, causing local power cuts, and there had been a number of tyre-burning incidents.

Details were not immediately available of all the attacks. A large number of co-ordinated attacks in the region is unusual.

A Malay Muslim separatist insurgency in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has claimed more than 6,500 lives since it escalated in 2004, according to independent monitoring group Deep South Watch.

On Monday, police reported what they described as the biggest attack by insurgents in the south in years. They said about 30 insurgents had fired more than 500 shots into a police booth.

In February, the government of the Buddhist-majority country struck a deal with MARA Patani, a long-standing umbrella group that claims to speak for the insurgents, but other separatists rejected it. </s> BANGKOK (Reuters) - Bomb blasts were among 23 coordinated attacks that rocked Muslim-majority southern Thailand early on Friday, a security officer said, just hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution as a step towards ending military rule.

Military personnel stand next to a site of an attack at Yaring district, in the troubled southern province of Pattani, Thailand. REUTERS/Surapan Boonthanom

Police reported no casualties in the region, site of a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency that had voted the most strongly against the new constitution at a referendum last year.

“The incidents are aimed to create disturbances,” Pramote Prom-in, a spokesman for regional security forces, told Reuters. “They want to destroy the government’s credibility and create fear among people.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility and security forces said they could not yet identify which insurgent group was to blame.

The attacks were scattered across 19 districts in the southern region, grouping the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, and the nearby province of Songkhla, he said.

A large number of co-ordinated attacks in the region is unusual. Complete details were not immediately available, but they ranged from bomb explosions at 52 electricity poles, triggering widespread regional power cuts, to several tire-burning incidents, Pramote added.

On Thursday, Thailand’s king signed into law a military-backed constitution, an essential step towards an election the ruling junta has promised will restore democracy after the 12th successful coup in little over 80 years.

The new constitution is the Southeast Asian country’s 20th since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, and critics say it will still give the generals a powerful say over Thai politics for years, if not decades.

Voters in the most heavily Muslim parts of Thailand were among the few to reject the draft constitution in last year’s referendum.

The timing of the attacks just hours after the constitution was proclaimed was curious, said Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, but there was no conclusive evidence it was a motive.

A Malay Muslim separatist insurgency in the three southern provinces has killed more than 6,500 since it escalated in 2004, independent monitoring group Deep South Watch says.

On Monday, police reported what they called the biggest insurgent attack in the south in years, when about 30 people fired more than 500 shots into a police booth.

In February, the government of the Buddhist-majority country struck a deal with MARA Patani, an umbrella group that says it speaks for the insurgents, but other separatists rejected it. </s> (BBC) — Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been crowned on the first of three days of coronation rites.

King Vajiralongkorn inherited the throne in 2016 when his long-reigning father Bhumibol Adulyadej died.

Days ago in a surprise announcement the palace said the king had married his long-term partner and royal consort who would now be Queen Suthida.

Thailand has a constitutional monarchy, but the royal family is highly revered by Thais and wields considerable power.

Thailand also has strict laws, called lese majeste, which ban criticism of the monarchy. The laws have shielded the royal family from public view and scrutiny.

During Saturday’s ceremony the 66-year-old king was handed the 7.3kg (16lbs) Great Crown of Victory, which he placed on his head.

He then issued his first royal command, promising to reign with righteousness, as his father had done at his coronation 69 years ago.

The coronation comes at a time of political uncertainty. A general election was held on 24 March, the first since the army took control in a coup in 2014, but a new government has yet to be declared.

Who is the king?

King Vajiralongkorn is the second child, and first son, of Queen Sirikit and Bhumibol Adulyadej.

He was educated in the UK and Australia and has been trained at the Royal Military College in Canberra. He went on to become an officer in the Thai armed forces and is a qualified civilian and fighter pilot.

He became crown prince and official heir to the throne in 1972. He is now known as Rama X, or the 10th King of the Chakri dynasty.

Queen Suthida, who is his fourth wife, is the deputy commander of his personal security unit. She was made a full general in the army in December 2016.

What are the coronation ceremonies?

The coronation rituals began at 10:09 (03:09 GMT), an auspicious time, when King Vajiralongkorn changed into a white robe to go through purification and anointment ceremonies using sacred water that has been collected from more than 100 locations around the country.

He is receiving the five Royal Regalia – the symbols of kingship – which includes the Great Crown of Victory.

Most of the main Brahmin and Buddhist rituals take place on Saturday, and the coronation continues until Monday.

While King Vajiralongkorn has been on the throne since 2016, in Thai tradition he cannot be considered a divine representative on Earth nor the main patron of Buddhism until he is consecrated.

How are Thais marking the occasion?

On Sunday, King Vajiralongkorn will take part in a procession around the capital, Bangkok, giving people a chance to celebrate.

Large crowds are expected for this event as well as when he makes a public appearance on a balcony at the Grand Palace on Monday.

King Vajiralongkorn spends most of his time abroad and is not as well known to the public as his father.

But huge portraits of him can now be seen at many buildings after it was made mandatory for state offices to erect them in the weeks leading up to the celebration.

Civil servants were also asked to wear yellow – the colour associated with the king. Many ordinary Thais will also be wearing yellow to show their loyalty to the monarch.
Thai King Vajiralongkorn signed into law a new Constitution of Thailand that paves the way for democratic reforms while allowing the Royal Thai Army to retain its influential role in Thai politics.