Bangkok, September 30 :

Thailand waited anxiously today for its powerful and revered monarch to approve an interim prime minister handpicked by military commanders who overthrew the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

An interim constitution under which the country will be governed for the next year and possibly the name of the chosen leader has been sent to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

“I can’t say clearly if it (the announcement) will be today or not, but I think it will be in the next day or so because once it has gone (to the king), it is in his majesty’s power to sign or consider it,” said Col Akara Thiprot, a spokesman for the ruling military council, today about the appointment.

Akara said the constitution had been sent to the Royal Palace but he was not sure about the name of the prime minister, widely believed to be former army commander Surayud Chulanont.

After days of rushed activity by the new rulers, Bangkok lapsed into a weekend lull, broken only when a taxi cab rammed into one of the tanks which have been deployed in the capital since the September 19 coup. The crumpled, purple taxi had the words “democracy destroyed” and “suicide” written on it with black spray paint, but Akara downplayed the incident.

“I’m not sure if he was sleeping or drunk. He was an elderly man, more than 60 years old,” Akara said of the cab driver who was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries. A soldier suffered minor injuries.