The authority to set the election date rests with the Election Commission (EC), not the government, which is a departure from the previous constitution, according to a member of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC).
Chartchai Na Chiangmai, who also serves as the CDC's spokesman, said the change is enshrined in the 2017 charter.
He said the government is obliged to submit for royal endorsement a draft decree calling the general election after which the EC will announce the poll date in the Royal Gazette.
His remark is intended to clear lingering doubts about who has the authority to pick the election date with Feb 24 next year being set as a tentative date.
Mr Chartchai said the CDC has written the charter to give the EC a say in setting the date, as opposed to the previous constitution where the government decided when the election should take place.
The EC's lack of authority to fix the poll date in the past was thought by some critics to have contributed in part to the Feb 2, 2014 election fiasco when the government was accused of not heeding the EC's warning about determining a poll date.
The Constitutional Court ruled that the 2014 election, which proceeded amid street protests, was unconstitutional because many constituencies could not hold the poll in one day.
The caretaker government insisted on holding the poll despite the EC's warning. About 3.8 billion baht was spent holding the snap election called after a House dissolution was declared by then prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra in December 2013.
"The EC will have to hold discussions with the government and parties to make sure it is fair play," said Mr Chartchai.
According to the charter writer, in the case of a House dissolution, the government is required to call a snap election within five days of parliament being dissolved and the EC must announce the poll date within 60 days.
In the event the House completes its term, the government is required to call an election within five days of the completed term while the EC must announce the poll date within 45 days.
However, for the next election the EC is required to announce the election date within 150 days of an organic law on elections of MPs taking effect, he said.
He added the organic law is set to take effect on Dec 11, so the election must take place by May 5 next year.
EC secretary-general Jarungvith Phumma has confirmed the poll agency has the final say and stressed that that Feb 24 is only a tentative date.
"If parties say they're not ready or there are other reasonable causes, the election date can be pushed back. If the date is set but elections can't proceed, the EC has to take responsibility," he said.
The EC has sprung into action as the core agency in charge of election-related arrangements after the organic laws on the election of MPs and selection of senators received royal endorsement, and were published in the Royal Gazette in September.
While the law pertaining to the Senate took immediate effect, the MP election law will not go into effect until Dec 11 to allow parties to prepare for the poll.
During this period, constituencies will be redrawn to determine how many parliamentary seats will be up for grabs in each province while parties make arrangements including setting up party branches and conducting a limited primary vote.
Sawaeng Boonmee, the EC deputy secretary-general, said parties are advised to recruit no fewer than 8,000 members across the country, or at least 101 members in every one of the 77 provinces, if they want to contest in all 350 constituencies in the next poll.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said European Union envoys have contacted non-governmental organisations in Thailand to gather information about the election, HRW adviser Sunai Phasuk said.
He said the EU contacted organisations including the HRW after it figured the government or the EC would not invite its representatives to observe the poll.
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