Constitution of Thailand - 1976 Constitution

1976 Constitution

Kukrit's coalition government was highly controversial, and governed amid escalating anti-leftist violence. Kukrit's own house was attacked and ransacked by police in August 1975. The palace was increasingly involved in the political maelstrom, and in January 1976, the military successfully demanded that Kukrit dissolve Parliament. Elections were scheduled on 14 April. The months leading up to the election were extremely violent. Seni Pramoj's Democrats won the most seats in the election, and formed a shaky coalition government.

Seni's government came under great pressure. A bill to extend elections to local levels was passed by Parliament 149-19, but the King refused to sign the bill or return it to Parliament, effectively vetoing it. As anti-leftist hysteria escalated, Praphas Charusathien returned shortly from exile to meet the King. Protesting student were attacked by Red Gaur paramilitary units. On 19 September 1976, Thanom returned and was immediately ordained as a monk at Wat Bovornives. Massive protests erupted. The King and Queen returned from a trip to the South to visit monk Thanom, leading Seni to resign from the Premiership in protest. His resignation was refused by Parliament, but initial attempts to reshuffle his Cabinet were blocked by the King. The political tension finally exploded in 6 October 1976, when Village Scouts and Red Gaur joined with military and police to rape and massacre at least 46 students protesting at Thammasat University. That evening, the military seized power and installed hard-line royalist Tanin Kraivixien as Premier.

The military coup was clearly endorsed by the King, who declared that it was "a manefestation of what the people clearly wanted."

The new constitution, promulgated on 1976, gave the Premier near absolute powers, including the power of summary justice. Political parties were banned. The King was allowed to appoint a 360-member unicameral National Assembly of bureaucrats and soldiers. In addition, the King was granted a new prerogative, the power to introduce his own legislation directly into the assembly.

Tanin made criminal cases the jurisdiction of military tribunals and gave police sweeping powers to detain people without charges for up to 6 months. The penalty for lese-majeste was toughened and the law's scope was expanded. Dozens of people were charged. All protests were banned (although royal rallies were allowed), the media was strictly censored, and the police scoured homes and schools to confiscate blacklisted books. The communist insurgency escalated to nearly a full-scale war.

Symbolically, Tanin planned to renovate the Democracy Monument. The monument, built to commemorate the constitution and the overthrow of the absolute monarchy, consisted of a gold-painted constitution atop giant offering bowls, situated in the center of the historic section of Bangkok. Tanin wanted to replace the constitution with a huge statue of King Prajadhipok. Engineering challenges prevented this, so he instead placed the statue in front of Parliament. As for the Democracy Monument, the government planned to demolish it.