Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be released on parole after serving eight months in jail, paving the way for his possible return to politics as his family¡¯s party takes a lesser role in a new conservative-led government.

Thaksin, 76, has been approved for release on May 11, having met requirements such as serving two-thirds of his one-year sentence that began in September, the Thai Department of Corrections said in a statement.

The patriarch of the Shinawatra clan will be subject to parole conditions, including wearing an electronic monitoring device, for four months before he becomes a free man. Some 858 other inmates will also be paroled, the department said.