Thailand's caretaker government offered to postpone the February 2 general election if protesters end their daily demonstrations in the capital, reports said Saturday, according to dpa. Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's office said the anti-government groups must also pledge not to obstruct or boycott voting if the election is rescheduled, the Bangkok Post reported. Officials said Yingluck was willing to discuss the matter with the Election Commission, which has been pushing for a postponement on grounds that the demonstrations could disrupt the voting. On Friday, the Constitutional Court ruled that the government has the legal authority to postpone the election. The ruling added pressure on the embattled Yingluck government, which called the election in December to bolster its legitimacy amid the increasingly virulent anti-government protests in Bangkok. Advance voting for the election is scheduled to begin Sunday. Anti-government protesters are demanding political reforms which they claim are necessary to combat vote-buying and the influence of Yingluck's elder brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin was deposed by a coup in 2006, but retains wide popularity in the populous northern and north-eastern provinces. He fled the country to avoid a two-year jail term after he was convicted of abuse of power in a land transaction, but has exerted de facto control of his sister's government from his home in Dubai.
