Thailand’s Election Commission (EC) said on February 9 that it will invite caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra over for discussions on how to deal with 28 vacant southern constituencies, the Bangkok Post reported on Feb. 10.

The newspaper quoted EC secretary general Puchong Nutrawong as saying that a letter will be sent to the PM before Feb. 11 to ask the government to issue a royal decree on a new polling date.

Meanwhile, the opposition Democrat Party urged the EC to seek a Constitution Court ruling in case the government rejects the proposal.

In a related development, the National Security Council believed that protest staged by the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (DPRC) would not last until Songkran (in April) as financial sources for PDRC supporters have been frozen.

Earlier on Feb. 6, the Thai government said a special taskforce with 12 members would be set up to arrest 19 PDRC leaders under warrants issued by the Criminal Court the same day.

The Centre for Administration of Peace and Order is also seeking arrest warrants for 39 other PDRC leaders for violating the emergency rule.

In late January, the Thai Government announced a state of emergency in a bid to maintain order in the capital city of Bangkok and its suburbs. However, violence and anti-government demonstrations still occurred in the places.-VNA