Thailand's National Peace and Order Maintaining Council (NPOMC), which now rules the country following Thursday's declaration of a military coup, announced Thursday that the country's constitution was temporarily suspended.

The Thai military Thursday staged a coup d'etat to overthrow an elected government and parliament and abolish the constitution following months of an unresolved political conflict. [Xinhua]

The announcement added that the constitution's section 2, which states, "Thailand adopts a democratic regime of government with the King as Head of State," will be kept, according to the NPOMC's spokesman Winthai Suwaree.

The government was terminated, but the Senate and independent agencies will still be able to perform duties, Winthai said.

The NPOMC is headed by army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, with the supreme commander, chiefs of air force and navy, and police chief serving as deputies.

The NPOMC ordered ousted caretaker prime minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan and 17 other cabinet members to report to it on Friday.

The NPOMC also ordered educational institutes to be suspended from Friday to Sunday.

Meanwhile, it ordered demonstrators of different political sides to stop rallying and return home. Political rallies with five people or more are banned, and those who defy the order could face prison time and fine.

(Xinhua contributed to the story)

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