DHAKA: Thailand`s Constitutional Court has declared as invalid the parliamentary elections held last February, throwing the country into a deeper political impasse.

The court said on Friday that the vote did not take place on the same day across the country and that violated a clause in the constitution.

A court spokesman told reporters that judges voted 6-3.

Polling was disrupted by protesters in around a fifth of constituencies, leaving the House of Representatives without a quorum to convene and select a new prime minister.

With the court ruling, a new election is expected to be called, according to Al Jazeera Zeina Khodr, who is reporting from the Thai capital Bangkok.

It was unclear when a new vote would be held.

The case is one of a slew of legal challenges facing the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who has withstood calls to resign despite months of political street protests.

Now in their fifth month, the protesters have shut government offices and at times blocked major thoroughfares in Bangkok to try to force Yingluck out. Twenty-three people have died and hundreds have been injured in the violence.

Our correspondent said that following the ruling, there is fear of a new wave of violence.

Source: Al-Jazeera
BDST:  1256 HRS, MAR 21, 2014