Thai PM, election commission agree to new polls in July

Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the election commission on Wednesday decided to hold a general election in July, even as the anti-government protesters who disrupted a vote in February continued to hold on to their demand for electoral reforms and the ouster of the prime minister.

The protesters, comprising mainly capital Bangkok's middle class and upper class, have been trying to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra since November, who in turn has the backing of the country's mainly poor, rural people and allegedly, the supporters of her brother and former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

"The prime minister and the election commission agree on a July 20 election," Puchong Nutrawong, secretary-general of the commission, told reporters after a meeting with Yingluck.

The election commission, he said, would ask the government to sign off on an election and get the king's endorsement for the elections through a royal decree.

The main opposition Democrat Party, which boycotted the vote in February, was noncommittal about its participation in a new election.

"Right now, we are not thinking about this. There is time still, let me propose an exit strategy for Thailand first," Reuters quoted Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva as saying.

Abhisit is calling for talks between the protesters and the ruling party for a political reform process to take place alongside a general election, but his efforts to take the country out of nearly a decade of strife have met with scepticism.

"I will outline a way out for Thailand and put it to the public. This will take one or two days," Abhisit said earlier, adding he would be sending proposals to Yingluck and protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban.

The anti-government protesters are focusing on the elimination of all influence of the fugitive former prime minister Thaksin, a former telecoms tycoon who gained power through populist policies such as free health care and loans for the poor.

He was toppled by the military in 2006, but protestors say he is the power behind his sister's government.

Thaksin denies corruption and lives in exile to avoid a jail sentence handed down in 2008 for abuse of power.