Bangkok, (Thailand): Thailand's chief justices called an urgent meeting Tuesday to map out a timeframe for new elections a day after a top court nullified last month's parliamentary elections and ordered fresh polls.
Justices from the Supreme, Administrative and Constitutional courts pledged to work rapidly towards organizing a new election but acknowledged that the invalidation of April 2 polls presented a whole new and unprecedented range of complications.
The main questions involved when the new election would be held and which agency would make the decision, since the Election Commission -- the agency normally responsible for scheduling polls -- was itself found to have violated the constitution.
"The Supreme Court is offering to help resolve the problem of the Election Commission," said Virat Chinijkul, the court's spokesman. "We will waste no time. We will be aggressive and cooperate with each other to sort this problem out."
Calls mounted among the opposition for the Election Commission's members to resign.
The Constitutional Court ruled Monday that the Election Commission had violated the constitution by scheduling snap polls too soon after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra dissolved parliament, making it unfair for small parties.
The court also ruled that ballot booths had been positioned in a way that compromised voters' right to privacy.
The widely expected ruling came after the nation's revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, last month urged Thai courts to quickly find a way out of what he called the country's political "mess."
Thaksin called the April 2 snap election three years ahead of schedule to defuse anti-government street protests and win a fresh mandate amid growing calls for his resignation. Critics accuse him of widespread corruption and abuse of power.
But public anger continued, with an opposition boycott of the elections that left the lower house without the full 500 lawmakers required to convene parliament and form a new government.
Thaksin's ruling Thai Rak Thai party won 57 percent of the vote, but he stepped down days after the election to appease a public outcry. Hundreds of legal complaints alleged that the vote was undemocratic and unconstitutional.
Thaksin announced April 4 he was taking "a break" from politics to restore national unity and passed his duties to his deputy, Chitchai Wannasathit.
But his party has hinted in recent weeks he plans to make a comeback -- a prospect that critics warn could propel the country back into crisis.
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