Thailand election commission wants polls to delayed after protests

Bangkok: Thailand’s election commission proposes to tell caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in talks scheduled for Tuesday that the Feb 2 elections should be delayed by six months, an official here said Monday. The meeting between the election commission and the prime minister to discuss the election postponement proposal has been scheduled for Jan 28 afternoon at a venue yet to be fixed. [caption id=“attachment_1361465” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Anti government protests in Thailand. AP image[/caption] Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, commissioner in charge of election management, said members of the election commission would hold a meeting Monday to prepare topics to be raised for discussion with Yingluck, reported the Bangkok Post. Initially, the election commission would propose that the elections be held six months later. “The postponement should not be longer than six months from Feb 2. We think it is a right timeframe. We don’t want a long interval because that would allow the government to stay too long in the caretaking position, which would cause damage to the country because a caretaker government cannot do anything much,” Somchai said. “At the same time, we need some time to resolve conflicts in society,” he added. On Sunday, protestors blocked many polling stations and disrupted advance voting by migrant workers and students. Suthin Tharathin, anti-government protest leader was shot dead in an attack at a polling station in Bangkok. Earlier, the country’s constitution court ruled that the upcoming elections can be postponed in view of the ongoing political unrest following anti-government protests that began in November 2013. But the government said the vote would go ahead despite the court ruling. Since November, protestors have been taking to the streets and occupying government offices, calling for reforms before the elections. They also want Yingluck to step down. IANS