Days before Thailand is due to vote in a controversial referendum, the country's junta chief has said that a general election will take place in 2017 regardless of the referendum outcome, the International Business Times reported.

Speaking to reporters at a military base in the Nakhon Nayok province, Prayuth Chan-ocha said: "Over the next two days the future of the country will be decided. We need to hold a general election in 2017 because that is a promise we made."

Millions of Thais are set to take to the polls on 7 August to vote on whether they should accept a draft resolution drawn up by the military-backed National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). 

Thailand has experienced 19 coups since 1932, 12 of them successful, and the military has provided 12 of Thailand's 29 prime ministers in that time.

Source: MENA