泰国选委会称新大选最早于7月举行

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　　It remains¹ to be seen how soon the new nationwide polls will take place in Thailand following the ruling by the Constitutional Court last month that the Feb. 2 election, disrupted in part by anti-government protesters, was "null and void."

　　The caretaker government under acting² premier³ Yingluck Shinawatra will consult with the Election Commission about the new race to parliament for which a royal decree is yet to be issued.

　　Election Commission secretary general Puchong Nutravong said the polling agency offered three tentative choices of election date for the political parties which have intended to contest the nationwide polls to choose - July 20 or Aug. 17 or Sept. 14.

　　A total of 53 political parties, including the ruling Pheu Thai (for Thais) Party, core of the caretaker government, attended a meeting on Tuesday with the Election Commission at a hotel on the northern outskirts⁴ of the capital but they failed to reach consensus⁵ on the election date.

　　The opposition⁶ Democrat⁷ Party did not join the meeting between the political parties and the polling agency.

　　Democrat leader and former premier Abhisit Vejjajiva cited " security reasons" for the absence of himself and his party colleagues from the meeting as hundreds of anti-government protesters gathered outside the hotel on one side of Vibhavadi Rangsit road.

　　The protesters managed to hang a banner calling for "political reforms" ahead of the election inside the hotel room where the meeting was held and finally dispersed⁸. No untoward⁹ incidents were reported to have occurred to the protesters, however.

　　Nevertheless, results of Tuesday's meeting, albeit¹⁰ inconclusive, will be shortly informed to all the parties, including those which may have failed to attend, Puchong said.

　　It remains to be seen whether Yingluck who chaired a weekly cabinet meeting at a government premise¹¹ in Patum Thani province north of the capital might continue to contest the new election or not following recent comments reportedly made by her brother, former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra, that all members of his family, including the lady leader, might leave politics for good.

　　"I have not been attached to any position in government and I will not set preconditions for anything... Let the people decide for themselves," Yingluck said but did not elaborate when asked by reporters to respond to the comments made by Thaksin who has remained in self-exile overseas since the 2006 coup¹².

　　Meanwhile, the polling agency and the caretaker government are believed to hold talks on the issue next week with the latter said to prefer July 20 as the date for the next election, according to Pheu Thai party spokesman Prompong Nopparit.

　　Election Commissioner¹³ Somchai Srisuthiyakorn earlier commented that the new election might be held either on July 20 or July 27 so that winning electoral candidates could be officially ratified¹⁴ by the polling agency in August, parliament might reconvene in September and a post-election government be set up in October.

　　Former election commissioner Sodsri Satayatham advised that the caretaker government promptly¹⁵ issue the royal decree for the new election because Yingluck might possibly be no longer authorized¹⁶ to do so if she was judged by the Constitutional Court as guilty of having transferred a senior government official a few years ago and was consequently deprived of the legal status as acting premier.

　　"Previous elections were normally held in a matter of 45 to 60 days after parliament had been dissolved and the caretaker government needed no consult with the Election Commission about the election dates," said the former commissioner.

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