Thailand's Caretaker PM to meet EC chief Jan 28

BANGKOK, January 25 (TNA) - Thailand's Caretaker Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will officially confer with Election Commission (EC) Chairman Supachai Somcharoen Chroen next Tuesday. Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana told journalists on Saturday that major issues the caretaker prime minister and the EC chair will discuss remain unknown, but it is expected they will discuss the possibility of postponing the new general election from February 2, 2014, after Bangkok's Constitution Court ruled on Friday evening that the the postponement of the national poll could be made at a joint decision by the caretaker government and the EC. In response to the Office of the Council of State's earlier suggestion that the postponement of the new election might violate the Constitution, Caretaker Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office Varathep Ratanakorn said, meanwhile, that the opinion was given before the Constitution Court's ruling and the caretaker government should, therefore, raise the issue for discussion with the EC on January 28. (TNA)