Caretaker government postpones election talks with Thai EC to May 15

BANGKOK, May 14 (TNA) - The caretaker government has postponed its discussion on the next general election with the Election Commission of Thailand (EC) from May 14 to May 15. An election commissioner, Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, told journalists on Wednesday that the caretaker government asked to put off the discussion, elaborating that the caretaker administration proposed to change the venue of Wednesday's discussion from the EC headquarters to the Royal Thai Air Force Academy in Bangkok, but the EC was inconvenient to hold the meeting outside its office on the outskirts of the capital and the caretaker government then said it would inform the EC of the time and place for the discussion later. According to the election commissioner, the EC insisted on its authority to postpone Thailand's next general election, if necessary, because the election agency does not want a state budget for the next national poll to turn out to be a waste. The election commissioner noted that the EC also plans to discuss with the caretaker government on whether Acting Caretaker Prime Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisal has authority to propose a royal decree on setting the next general election date. (TNA)