YANGON ? Myanmar's ruling junta has allowed the opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi to reopen regional offices that have been closed since 2003, a party spokesman said Thursday.

Around 300 offices of the National League for Democracy (NLD) around the country were shut after an attack by a pro-government mob on Suu Kyi's motorcade in May 2003 left dozens of people dead.

"They have not yet informed our party headquarters but the authorities have informed regional and divisional offices that they can reopen," NLD spokesman Nyan Win said.

He said that around 100 of the offices had already reopened and that the rest would follow suit.

The move comes ahead of elections promised by Myanmar's ruling generals later this year, which are expected in October or November although the regime has not yet set a date.

The junta released election laws this week under which the NLD must expel Suu Kyi from its ranks or be dissolved, on the grounds that a person serving a prison term cannot be a party member.

Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years' jail in August over an incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside home, but her sentence was commuted by junta supremo Than Shwe to 18 months under house arrest.

The Nobel Peace Laureate has been in detention for 14 of the past 20 years.