The caretaker government will postpone the Feb 2 election if anti-government protesters end their rallies, caretaker PM's Office Minister Varathep Rattanakorn said on Friday.
The protesters must also promise not to obstruct the new poll and there must be no boycott of it, he said.
He was speaking after the Constitution Court yesterday ruled that the Feb 2 general election can be deferred.
But postponing the poll would be futile if it continues to face disruptions, Mr Varathep said.
The Election Commission (EC) will invite caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to discuss the poll postponement on Monday after the court also ruled that the premier should discuss a new election date with the EC chairman.
Mr Varathep said Ms Yingluck is ready to discuss the matter with the EC.
Constitution Court judges on Friday voted unanimously that the poll can be put off.
The court also ruled that Ms Yingluck should discuss a new date with EC chairman Supachai Somcharoen as they share a caretaker role under the royal decree on the House dissolution. One of the nine judges was absent from the session.
The caretaker administration had repeatedly said it has no authority to defer the Feb 2 election declared by royal decree. The EC argued the caretaker cabinet has the responsibility, including the ability to seek a new election through a fresh royal decree.
EC commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn said yesterday the EC will invite Ms Yingluck to discuss delaying the poll on Monday morning and will invite representatives of political parties to discuss the issue in the afternoon.
He expected the government to issue a new royal decree to set a new poll date, which will invalidate the royal decree issued on Dec 9 scheduling the Feb 2 election.
Mr Somchai said the new poll date should not be more than three months from now. However, advance voting will still proceed tomorrow as planned.
A senior government source said the government's legal team is studying the court's ruling.
Deputy Prime Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana is dealing directly with Mr Supachai.
The government is expected to meet the EC on Tuesday, the source said, ruling out Mr Somchai's claim that the EC would meet with the government on Monday.
Meanwhile, Natthawut Saikuar, a key leader of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), said his group would not accept any delay to the election because such a move is tantamount to a silent coup.
"We believe delaying the poll could be used as a pretext to not hold any elections at all," said Mr Nattawut, also caretaker deputy commerce minister.
However, Mr Natthawut, who is heading to the Northeast over the next week to campaign for the election to go ahead as scheduled, said that if there was a guarantee from the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) and from the Democrat Party that they would halt all their protest activities and then participate in the electoral process, the red shirts would be willing to consider any move.
Political analyst Anek Laothammathat on Friday said the court's ruling is fair to all sides, even though it may not be entirely satisfactory.
"The government is in a position to postpone the election," he said.
But if the government still insists that the Feb 2 poll proceeds as planned, it must take responsibility for any negative consequences, he said.
A Pheu Thai Party source admitted the court ruling's implication is that Ms Yingluck can no longer dodge the responsibility. If the government insists on holding the Feb 2 poll, then it may face lawsuits seeking to cancel it.
The source said a budget of 2 billion baht has been spent on producing ballot papers as well as arranging elections outside constituencies. If the premier refuses to put off the election and if suits are filed against the poll, Ms Yingluck must be responsible for the costs.
Kriangsak Thiennukul, vice-chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said the court's ruling only implied that the poll can be postponed, but whether it actually will be is another issue. It depends on discussions between the government and the EC.