Five conditions

In his televised statement, Abhisit set five broad conditions for reconciliation that must be agreed before any election.

The monarchy, he said, should not be dragged into politics or "violated" - a condition that follows government accusations some "red shirts" aim to overthrow the monarchy.

The second condition calls for reforms to address social injustice, the third proposes an independent body to monitor media to ensure unbiased reporting and the fourth a committee to investigate recent political violence. The fifth point broaches possible political reforms that could include constitutional amendments and a review of a five-year ban on politicians allied with Thaksin.