Thailand king approves Oct 15 election date

The king's endorsement of the proposed date was needed before the poll could go ahead within a mandatory 60 days of a royal decree.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej has approved October 15 as the date to hold a new general election, Cabinet Secretary-General Rongphon Jareonphan announced on Friday.

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The king's endorsement of the government's proposed date was needed before the election could go ahead within a mandatory 60 days of a royal decree, according to the constitution.

The decree will take effect on August 24, said Rongphon.

There has been widespread scepticism of whether the polls would go ahead, because of legal challenges to the legitimacy of the Election Commission, which is supposed to supervise the polls, as well as the top two contending parties -- the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party and the opposition Democrat Party.

Thailand held a general election on April 2, three years ahead of schedule, but it was boycotted by the three parliamentary opposition parties, including the Democrats.

The nation's top courts later nullified the April poll, calling it undemocratic and unconstitutional after it was criticised by the king.

Since parliament was dissolved in February, Thailand has had no working legislature and only a caretaker government under Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai Rak Thai leader.

Several lawsuits launched in connection with the April election could impact any new polls.

The Election Commissioners were sued for allegedly failing to carry out their duty to oversee the polls in a fair and transparent manner. Critics said they favoured Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party.

The political parties were sued for alleged violations of election law. If found guilty, they could be dissolved and their leaders banned for five years from holding executive positions in any party.

Cases involving the election commissioners and the parties are currently before the courts, and though the judges involved have promised to expedite proceedings, it remains unclear when they could be resolved.