If the election goes ahead on April 2, it will exacerbate the political turmoil, the letter said.

The Thai Broadcast Journa-lists'Association, the Thai Journa-lists'Association and the Press Council of Thailand listed five main reasons why the EC should reconsider the election date.

First, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra dissolved the House to avoid being questioned by Parliament about his ethics and conflicts of interest involved in the sale of Shin Corp, the groups said.

Thaksin's decision to dissolve the House did not have the Constitution's intentions at heart, they said.

The recent Supreme Adminis-tration Court's decision to reject the privatisation of Egat Plc reflected the conflicts of interest within the government, because the government selected unqualified people to sit on the panel preparing the Egat privatisation bid, the letter said.

Secondly, it said Thaksin's decision to call a snap election within 37 days of the House Dissolution was wrong as the Constitution allowed up to 60 days for political parties to prepare.

The election date is too soon, and has left people unsure about whether it will proceed properly, the letter said.

It also suggested that as all key opposition parties had declared they would boycott the election, people were unsure about the merits of going ahead with the election.

Eligible voters doubt whether the election will be conducted with honesty and fairness, the letter said.

It suggested there would be allegations of fraud immediately after the election.

The three associations said Thaksin was also facing allegations he had violated election laws, and that had the potential to see him disqualified.

The letter argued that if the EC insisted on going ahead with the April 2 poll, it should expedite its probe and deliver a judgement before the poll date.

Finally, the statement said it was clear current political conflict had created rifts in society as never before seen and hold an election in this environment would divide the public to a point that would become problematic.

For these reasons the associations called on the EC to review the Constitution and electoral laws and make a decision about the election that would avoid a political crisis.

The letter said the prime minister dissolved the House for the wrong reasons and named a problematic date for the poll, and both matters had to be rapidly resolved.

If the commission insists on proceeding with an April 2 election, the EC will be responsible for any damage resulting from this, the letter said.

Meanwhile, a group of more than 200 engineers yesterday signed a statement calling for Thaksin to step down.