On the other hand, many of the tasks the CNS has set out to achieve have only just begun. And judging from the less than delicate or marginally competent way some things are being handled, it remains to be seen if the military council will be able to successfully conclude those tasks and live up to the expectations of the Thai people, who want to see a marked reduction in corruption in Thai politics and democracy fully restored.

For a start, the military council, which cited rampant corruption by the Thaksin government as one of the key justifications for the September 19 coup, has done precious little to convince the public of the seriousness of its commitment to clean up politics. The various investigation panels have yet to reveal any concrete evidence to prove that crimes were committed by either Thaksin Shinawatra or his cronies.

Three months have passed and all the CNS and its investigation committees have accomplished so far is to demand that Thaksin's brother-in-law pay taxes owed to the Revenue Department; this in connection with shady transactions among members of the Shinawatra-Damapong clan involving a huge number of Shin Corp shares.

The other important task the CNS has solemnly promised to do is to create an assembly to draft a new constitution with participation from representatives from a broad cross-section of society. This is to ensure that the resulting new basic law will reflect people's democratic aspirations and gain universal acceptance.

If what happened earlier this week was any indication, the ongoing process to set up the constitution-drafting assembly is conspicuous for its lack of transparency - if not also honesty. The 1,000 candidates representing people from all walks of life have been asked to vote among themselves, to whittle the number down to 200, from which the CNS will appoint 100 to sit on the drafting assembly. Complaints of vote rigging appear to have been validated by the unlikely result in which an obscure candidate scored the highest number of votes. The candidate turned out to be a friend of General Sonthi.

A closer look at the list of 200 finalists, who purportedly represent people from a "wide range" of professional and occupational backgrounds, revealed a disturbing bias in favour of bureaucrats, who form the single biggest interest group. At the same time, many members of the other groups, who are supposed to represent the business sector, civil society and academia, also have close relationships with the military or the state bureaucracy.

Sonthi and his inner circle at the CNS are expected to handpick 100 from among the finalists, plus another 35 "drafters" to be appointed, so they can start drawing up a new constitution in January. Already they have sent all the wrong signals, and this is beginning to worry many democracy-loving people.

The worst fear, and indeed the worst thing that could happen to Thailand, is that instead of making good on their promise to restore full democracy to the country, the coup-makers may become intoxicated by the absolute power they now wield, that they may want to extend their mandate or retain their influence beyond the self-assigned one-year limit.

Sonthi and the CNS must be reminded that the public support they have had, and seem to continue to enjoy, is conditional on them delivering on their promise to put this country back on track to full and genuine democracy - not one with the military and state bureaucracy pulling strings behind the scenes. If they have made the wrong moves or have sent the wrong signals, they still have the chance to do the right thing when the time comes to appoint members of the constitution-drafting assembly - which will be closely watched.