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Tuesday May 16, 9:22 PM Thai courts reject proposed election date Photo: AFP BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand's three most powerful courts rejected a proposed October 22 date for new elections and demanded that the Election Commission (EC) resign for organizing last month's controversial poll. The Supreme, Constitutional and Supreme Administrative Courts said after a one-hour meeting that the current commissioners should not organize the next election. "If the EC does not resign, then the courts cannot guarantee a free and fair election," said Supreme Court Justice Charan Pakdithanakul, speaking for the three courts. "The EC must quit or they will be held accountable for any future damage to the country. There is no reason for this EC to keep organizing the election," he told reporters. The commission met Monday to begin organizing the new polls, which they proposed be held October 22. The government has the final say on the date. "The courts consider the meeting initiated by the EC to set a date for elections was illegal," Charan said, adding this was because only three of the five commissioners were present. One of the commissioners has already resigned, the speaker of the Senate, Suchon Chaleekrua announced at a separate press conference. Another commissioner has died. Justice Charan urged the remaining commissioners to step down. "The remaining three should use this opportunity to make their decision and the sooner they quit, the better it will be for the country," he said. The courts have previously said they have no power to remove the commissioners from office, but they have piled on the pressure for the panel to resign. The commission disputed the courts' ruling, but it was unclear if they had any legal recourse after the unusual meeting of the nation's highest courts. "Yesterday's meeting was constitutional and legal," spokesman Ekachai Varunprabha told reporters. "The remaining three members of the Election Commission have not yet resigned." The Constitutional Court last week invalidated April 2 elections, saying that the campaigning period was too short and that the polling booths were improperly organized. The Supreme Administrative Court on Tuesday backed that ruling, agreeing that the election results should be invalidated because the booths did not provide enough privacy as voters ticked their ballots. The Election Commission has received much of the blame for the flawed elections, which left Thailand without a functioning parliament amid an opposition boycott and forced prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to step aside. The courts are overseeing new elections, the first time the judiciary has taken such an active role in Thai politics. Thaksin's deputy said that the court's ruling had changed Thailand's political landscape, and that Thaksin has quietly begun resuming some of his official duties. "Prime Minister Thaksin is now involved with many issues, such as arranging state ceremonies to mark the king's 60th year on the throne," deputy prime minister Chidchai Vanasathidya told reporters. "Personally I have not yet discussed it with Prime Minister Thaksin, but it's his decision" about whether to stand, Chidchai said. Chidchai has been serving as acting prime minister since Thaksin stepped aside on April 4. Thaksin's party won the election with 56 percent of the vote, but his win was undermined by an opposition boycott that encouraged many Thais to cast protest votes. Thaksin remains the leader of his Thai Rak Thai party and a member of parliament, but has remained coy about whether he would run again.