Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Friday (Mar 17) he had prepared a decree seeking to dissolve parliament ahead of an election, an expected step as his government heads into the last week of its four-year term.

The decree would require the approval of Thailand’s monarch and would take effect once published in the Royal Gazette. An election must take place 45 to 60 days after dissolution.

“I have prepared (the decree), we have to wait. We have to wait for the announcement in the Royal Gazette,” General Prayut told reporters in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

Asked when this would be, he said: “We have to wait.”