Noppadon Kannika, director of Assumption University's Abac Poll, said 44.4 per cent of respondents wanted Thai Rak Thai to propose another person to be the next premier, and 42.7 per cent said they wanted Thaksin as the candidate.

More than 87 per cent of those polled said political parties should bow to the decisions of the courts on the validity of the general election, regarding them as reliable institutions whose verdicts offered the best solution. More than 7 per cent said the parties should not accept the courts' decisions and about 5 per cent had no comment, Noppadon said.

Almost 80 per cent of respondents believed the popularity of political parties that defied the courts' rulings would fall. About 13 per cent said the parties had the right to reject a court decision, while about 8 per cent did not comment, he said.

Around half said the Democrat Party had conducted itself well while waiting for the courts to decide. More than 43 per cent said Thai Rak Thai had behaved appropriately.

Some 61 per cent said it was undemocratic for MPs of one party to occupy almost all of the 500 House seats. However, about one-third of respondents said it was democratic, Noppadon said. The people also seemed evenly divided about what should come first - constitutional amendments, or the next election.

About 43 per cent said the amendments should be a priority, while about 40 per cent said the election should come first, he said.

Noppadon said the survey results showed people's opinions had not changed since last month and the present political situation continued to be a source of worry and stress.

The survey was conducted on Monday and Tuesday with 1,266 respondents.