Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on April 17 reaffirmed that he would seek a royal decree for the dissolution of the House of Representatives in the first week of May.

Speaking during his weekly TV and radia address, the Thai PM expressed his hope that the upcoming general election would help Thailand deal with a number of huge challenges, including increasing the international community’s confidence in Thailand .

The Thai PM said he would consul with the Election Council (EC) on the duty of his administration after the House dissolution to ensure every political party in his coalition government does not take advantage canvassing for votes from eligible voters.

Police are now preparing to take legal action against those who have violated and insulted the monarchy, Mr Abhisit said, adding that he hoped the EC would issue rules and regulations forbidding political parties and politicians from making remarks against the monarchy while contesting the election.

His remarks were made after the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) recently said that at least 18 leaders of the anti-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) had allegedly made inappropriate remarks about the monarchy during their rally on April 10.

In another development, the Dusit Poll conducted a survey among 1,569 people in the country between April 12-16 on their preparedness for the upcoming general election.

Of the total respondents, 77.16 percent said they are ready to cast ballots, another 12.5 percent said they were still uncertain and the remaining 10.34 percent said they are not ready./.