It may well be true that the planned elections, which must now be postponed, might not have produced the sort of outcome that many would find acceptable. For example, Thaksin, who by all accounts remained popular among the rural masses, might well have been returned to power if the election was held as planned.

Thaksin was a seriously flawed political leader who tried to propagate a culture of corruption and deceit that threatened to undermine democracy as we knew it. Throughout his five and a half years in power, the former prime minister was exposed as a greedy politician who was driven by self-interest at the expense of the public good.

The Thai Rak Thai Party leader proved to be a tyrant who sought to roll back civil liberties, suppress dissent - not to mention his flagrant violation of human rights. All of this was part of his sinister design to dominate and then monopolise political power so that he could indulge in his corrupt practices unimpeded.

Nobody who loves democracy will be sorry to see him gone.

Ideally, the likes of Thaksin should be rejected at the ballot box or pressured to quit through peaceful protests. The problem is that most people did not believe that either of these options would have been successful in removing him from power. To many people, the military coup against Thaksin might have been a necessary evil.

But make no mistake, the seizure of power - albeit one that was achieved without the loss of lives - is nonetheless a form of political violence that is incompatible with the democratic aspirations of the Thai people. These democratic aspirations will live on, even as the Constitution has already been abrogated by the coup leaders.

There are risks associated with the idea that might is right.

The Administrative Reform Council has pledged allegiance to democracy under the constitutional monarchy and cited Thaksin's corruption-prone leadership and his disrespect for the monarchy as justification for the coup. However, it cannot be emphasised enough that the coup leaders have now also concentrated all of the power of government in their hands, unrestrained by systems of checks and balances.

The coup party's leaders want the public to take them at their word that they will do their best to implement needed reforms and rid politics of corruption for now. They will be expected to promise to return sovereign power to the people, organise a free and fair election and then ensure a smooth transfer of power to the next democratically elected civilian government.

We expect the coup party to make clear exactly how it will implement its plans to restore democracy in this country, complete with a definite time frame. A transitional government headed by a respected and politically neutral civilian leader with unblemished personal integrity must be installed and a provisional parliament set up to draft a new constitution within a specific time frame leading up to a fresh general election and a return to full democracy.

Once a transitional government is installed, all coup leaders are expected to submit to the authority of a new civilian leader, and order troops back to their barracks. They must also prove beyond any reasonable doubt that they do not seek personal gain from the absolute power they now hold or intend to retain indirect control of the provisional government for ulterior motives. It must be stressed that the first task of the coup party must be to restore the confidence of democracy-loving Thais as well as the international community and foreign investors that democracy will be restored. Furthermore, they must show that this time democratic development will be sustainable and the democratic system that results will come equipped with inbuilt self-correcting mechanisms so that military coups can be put to rest for good.