Many foreign embassies in Thailand, including the British, the American, Canadian, Japanese, Myanmar, Finnish and Danish embassies, have issued “security message” warnings advising their citizens to avoid crowds and abide by the host country’s legal regulations.

NCPO spokesman Colonel Piyapong Klinphan said those issuing the warnings may appear less credible and the NCPC was maintaining order and had everything under control.

On the same day, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra criticized the draft constitution as a “folly” that would perpetuate the power of the ruling junta and make it impossible for future elected governments to rule. 

He said the constitution would put so much power in the hands of bodies tasked with acting as counter-balances to governments that it would make Thailand ungovernable.

The junta government announced the new draft constitution will pave the way for a general election in 2017, ensuring transparent politics and ending more than decade of political unrest in the country.