Thailand sets election date for March 24

BANGKOK, Jan 23 (AP): Thailand's Election Commission on Wednesday announced that the nation's first general election since the military seized power in a 2014 coup will be held on March 24.

The long-awaited announcement came just hours after Thailand's royal palace issued a decree authorizing the polls.

The decree published Wednesday in the Royal Gazette put into effect election laws that were drafted by the military government, which has kept tight control over political activities and made efforts to quash dissent.

The ruling junta has repeatedly pushed back several promised election deadlines - at least once every year since their May 2014 overthrew the democratically elected government. This is the first time a poll date has been made official.

The most recent promised election date of Feb. 24 had to be abandoned because the decree giving the go-ahead was not issued as expected earlier this month, leaving not enough time to prepare for the polls.