But the move, which looks more like an act of self-preservation than one inspired by noble intentions, is unlikely to persuade the public to allow the beleaguered body to stay on to organise the upcoming general election.

What happens to Prinya and his colleagues - EC chief Vasana Puemlarp and commissioners Charupat Ruangsuwan and Virachai Naewboonnien - also depends very much on the Supreme Administrative Court's verdict, expected today, on whether the EC's configuring of poll booths in a way that prevented voters from casting their ballots with complete confidentiality constituted a failure to properly discharge its duties.

Last week, the Constitution Court ruled that the April 2 general election organised by the EC was unconstitutional and unfair. Subsequently, the chiefs of the Constitution Court, Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court voiced serious concern about the EC's lack of credibility to organise and oversee the fresh nationwide ballot and suggested that the four commissioners consider stepping down to pave the way for the appointment of a new commission.

It remains to be seen whether the four commissioners can be shamed into vacating their offices. But the fact that Prinya is still busying himself with the scheduling of the new election suggests that he and his colleagues intend to stick around, at least for the time being.

The ruling Thai Rak Thai Party, which has to countersign a royal decree to set the election date, appeared to have concurred with Prinya's proposal, which has the potential of significantly altering the political landscape that has been dominated by Thai Rak Thai.

Prinya said the idea of holding the new election on October 22 was to give politicians the chance to switch parties, and thus enable the political system to realign itself. He suggested that this would require the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party to agree to issue the requisite royal decree sometime in August so that the new ballot can be scheduled within 60 days, as specified by the Constitution.

The Constitution dictates that candidates for the House of Representatives must have been members of the parties they represent for at least 90 days to be eligible to contest an election. Under Prinya's proposal, all prospective MP candidates could take advantage of the opportunity to switch allegiance between now and the proposed election date, which is more than four months away.

Coincidentally, Prinya's idea echoes a demand made by disaffected elements within the Thai Rak Thai Party as well as the People's Alliance for Democracy. The Alliance led a successful campaign to force Thaksin to pass up the chance to be prime minister again after the controversial April 2 election, which has since been nullified by the Constitution Court.

However, Prinya's idea of a late election to get around the Constitution's 90-day rule for party membership could prove a double-edged sword. It is too early to say whether such a move would put the Thai Rak Thai Party at a disadvantage, as many observers believe, or whether it would allow the party time to poach promising MP candidates from opposition parties, and thus boost its advantage, or cause opposition parties to engage in the same practice themselves, which could weaken them.

All things considered, Prinya's proposal represents a positive development in the right direction. One of the last remaining deadlocks appears to have been broken and the nation is moving closer to a fresh election to produce a new government with the specific mission of implementing thorough political reform. In so doing, it looks like Prinya is also hoping to earn himself and his colleagues an opportunity to make an exit with whatever remains of their personal integrity and dignity.