Thai Cabinet Preparing For Next General Election

BANGKOK, December 10 (TNA) – Thailand’s Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Tuesday chaired a special cabinet meeting to prepare for the next general election which will be held on February 2, 2014. The cabinet meeting was held at the Army Club on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Bangkok. Puchong Nutrawong, secretary-general of the Election Commission, and legal officials of the EC informed the meeting of electoral regulations and preparation for the next election. The cabinet also discussed its caretaker roles under Section 181 of the constitution. Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt said that most government projects including infrastructure ones had been endorsed and relevant organisations would implement them. He expects no problems with such projects including the 2-trillion-baht borrowing plan to fund transport projects. He said that the borrowing bill already passed its third reading in the parliament and waits for its proposal to His Majesty the King. The proposal is suspended as the Constitution Court has yet to rule on its legality and if the court endorses it, the new government will propose it to His Majesty the King. “The work that organisations have done can proceed and I think that if the new government takes office in February, it will continue. There may be slight delay. I think that useful projects should proceed because the nation must progress,” Mr Chadchart said. In mean time, anti-government protesters led by the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) still seize Government House and its vicinity. On Monday Night, PDRC secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban demanded that the prime minister resign in 24 hours and the cabinet stop working. He announced to wait for three days. If the government does not heed the demands, his group will escalate its protest. (TNA)