Thailand’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved a request to recall Parliament for a special session to deal with the political pressures from ongoing anti-government protests.
The Cabinet at its weekly meeting approved the request, which calls for a non-voting session on October 26-27.
The request for the session came from House speaker Chuan Leekpai, who said Monday that both government and opposition parties supported it.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had already said earlier that he supports the move.
There is a deadlock between the government and the student-led protesters, who want Prayuth to step down, the constitution to be amended to make it more democratic, and reforms to the monarchy to have it conform to democratic norms.
The protesters charge that Prayuth, an army commander who led a 2014 coup, was returned to power unfairly in last year’s general election because laws had been changed to favor a pro-military party.
The protesters say a constitution written and passed under military rule is undemocratic.
But their more recent demand for checks and balances on the monarchy has deeply angered conservative Thais — and broken a taboo, since the monarchy is considered sacrosanct and tough laws protecting it from insult mean its role is not usually discussed openly.