BANGKOK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra launched a scathing attack on the generals who removed him in a bloodless coup a year ago and accused the world of turning a blind eye to "departures from democratic norms".

In a commentary in the Wall Street Journal, Thaksin said the coup leaders, who accused him of corruption and abuse of power, had mismanaged the economy and failed to prove allegations of corruption, which were among the reasons cited for his ouster.

"In reflecting on the past year, I am appalled by the suffering that has been inflicted on the Thai people by the junta's misplaced priorities," wrote Thaksin, who was in New York when the generals seized power and now lives in exile in London.

He said the post-coup constitution drawn up by a military-appointed committee was less democratic than the "people's constitution" adopted in 1997 and abolished after the coup.

A promised Dec. 23 general election could not be free and fair because martial law remained in force in nearly half the country's 76 provinces, most of them former strongholds of his banned Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party, he said.

"The world appears inclined to accept all these departures from democratic norms," he said, accusing the international community of looking the other way to give the generals no reason for delaying the election.

"In a bizarre twist, the junta's greatest weaknesses -- its incompetence and unpopularity -- have been transformed into its greatest short-term strengths," he said.

"The world is miscalculating, however, if it thinks there can be stability in Thailand without true democracy."