Thailand ? A new constitution for Thailand that is to usher in December general elections and end military rule was approved by millions of voters in a nationwide referendum on Sunday, according to two exit polls.

Approval of the charter, the country’s 18th in the last 75 years, was widely expected.

A Suan Dusit Institute poll, released shortly after balloting ended, showed that 68 percent of voters approved the new constitution, while an ABAC poll indicated more than 70 percent said yes.

The approval means the generals who have been in power for the past 11 months are bound to hold general elections in December.

A “no” vote would have delayed the polls and allowed the military to pick any of the country’s previous constitutions and make it the law of the land.

Defenders of the charter concede it is imperfect but argue it is the best way out of the political stalemate that led the military to seize power last Sept. 19 amid growing unrest over alleged corruption and abuse of power by then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, now in self-exile in Britain.