Very few had expected that the election could go ahead without the removal of the Election Commission (EC) first, which had been deemed by the top three courts of the country as lacking legitimacy and credibility to hold the new election. This follows the Constitution Court's decision to nullify the April 2 snap election as unconstitutional.

Although the royal endorsement for the October 15 election might not be the final answer for all of the political conflicts, it has some implications for the near future.

Now the election decree has been endorsed, the attention is turning to the fate of the three remaining EC members, who are continuing to defy calls for their resignation to pave the way for a cleaner and fairer election.

The commissioners appear to be a major obstacle to a breakthrough in the current political impasse. All parties in the conflicts except Thai Rak Thai have rejected the commission's legitimacy to manage a new national poll.

As the EC members insist on their innocence and vow not to quit, anti-government groups - including the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and the Democrat Party - have taken legal action against them by filing complaints with the courts.

The key case will be decided

on Tuesday, when the Criminal

Court rules on a case filed by the Democrats against the three commissioners. They are accused of malfeasance and the illegal management of the April elections.

If they are found guilty, they will not only be disqualified as commissioners but might also face jail terms. In the worst case, the court would not allow them to appeal and put them in jail right away.

Analysts believe the decree's endorsement would pave the way for the three commissioners to quit without facing any criminal charges or legal action in the future.

Their resignation, in these circumstances, could happen before the Criminal Court hands down the verdict. As a result, a new selection of all five EC members by the Senate could take place shortly after that.

 The EC resignations would reduce the ongoing political tension even though embattled caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will surely lead his Thai Rak Thai election campaign.

All the parties involved in the conflicts would accept the new EC, which they believe could guarantee a "fair" election.

Thaksin is unlikely to enjoy his election campaign, although his party would be favoured to win the national poll for the fourth consecutive time.

As Thaksin stands at the heart of the conflict dividing the nation, there could be growing pressure from his opponents or even some leading Thai Rak Thai members, who are concerned about the party's survival, for Thaksin to clarify his political future. Thaksin has to spell out whether he will reassume the premiership or take a "political break" as he did after the April 2 poll.

Although Thaksin wants to take the break, he is unlikely to address the issue before he knows the election results after October 15. The triumph of his party considerably depends on his presence as the potential prime minister because many voters in the rural areas still have faith in him personally rather than in Thai Rak Thai as a political party.

The PAD could revive its street rallies if Thaksin fails to make a "quick and pleasing" reply, although its crowds are smaller than those at its rallies before the April 2 election.

The decree's endorsement yesterday also means that the Constitution Court will rule on the dissolution cases against Thai Rak Thai and the Democrats after the election, because any dissolution before October 15 would create more problems than it solves due to the time constraints as required by the Constitution that MP candidates must be political party members for at least 90 days.

The dissolution of the two major parties would force all of their House candidates to apply for other parties. In this case, they would be disqualified from the forthcoming poll as the first registration date for House of Representatives candidacy is September 2, about one and a half months away from now.

The case also needs a long period of time to conclude because it involves many witnesses and circumstantial evidence.

Together with the recent stand of newly appointed Constitution Court president Ura Wang-ormklang that the dissolution cases would not be concluded within a short period, the House candidates of the two parties should feel relieved that they will have a chance to get into Parliament.

Although the court might dissolve either of the two parties after the poll, the winning contenders would only need to apply for other existing parties to comply with the 90-day rule. They would not lose their House memberships.