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Thailand’s king has issued a royal decree endorsing the first general election since a 2014 coup, the palace said , with the date of the long-delayed poll expected to be announced imminently.
According to reports by news agency AFP, The decree, published in the Royal Gazette, called for a general “election of members of parliament” and gives the kingdom’s Election Commission five days to announce when it will hold the much-anticipated poll.
The election will be the first since the junta toppled the administration of Yingluck Shinawatra nearly five years ago, rewriting the constitution, muzzling dissent and appointing key military allies across the bureaucracy.
The junta had said polls would be held no later than the end of February, but the late signing by 66-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn may mean elections are put back for several weeks.
The decree means campaigning can officially start, although an array of new parties, including some aligned to the military, others to the still powerful Shinawatra clan, have already begun meetings and recruitment.
