MADRID — The Spanish government says it will exhume and relocate the remains of late military dictator Gen. Francisco Franco on Thursday.

In a statement Monday, the government said the remains would be taken from the grandiose mausoleum at the Valley of the Fallen complex outside Madrid and taken to a discreet grave close to the capital by helicopter.

The procedure was authorized after the Supreme Court recently dismissed the objections by Franco's family.

The government is pushing ahead with the exhumation before Spain holds a general election on Nov 10.

Franco ruled Spain between 1939 and 1975.

AP