Thailand to go to the polls on 24 March

Elections in Thailand will take place on 24 March 2019, according to the country’s election commission.

The announcement was made on Wednesday, hours after a royal decree instructed the commission to arrange an election, the Bangkok Post reports. The commission, which is required by law to set an election date within five days of the royal decree being signed, wasted no time in publishing 24 March as its chosen day.

The election will be Thailand’s first since a military coup in 2014, and follows a series of postponements by the ruling junta.

Thai stocks jumped one per cent following the royal decree, Reuters reports.