Thailand: Polls to proceed despite protests
Thailand’s election is set to go ahead as planned on February 2, the government says, amid protesters’ “shutdown” of the capital, Bangkok.
The news came after a meeting that was boycotted by the protesters.
The protesters, who began their “shutdown” on Monday, want the prime minister to resign and an unelected “People’s Council” to enact reforms.
They have blocked major road junctions in Bangkok and are camped out in some areas.
Thailand is facing its worst political unrest since 2010, which left 90 people dead.
Protesters say the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is controlled by her brother, ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, and are demanding it step down.
Ms Yingluck, who leads an elected government that enjoys strong support in rural areas, has called an election for February 2 in response to the protests - but the opposition is boycotting it.
The election commission has recommended delaying the polls until May.
Ms Yingluck offered to hold talks with opponents yesterday morning to discuss postponing the polls, but protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban has rejected any compromise and did not attend.
Following yesterday meeting, Ms Yingluck told reporters that there was no legal way to delay the polls.
“The rights of the people are important,” she said.
Deputy Prime Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana said: “We believe the election will bring the situation back to normal.”
“We can see that the support of Mr Suthep is declining. When he is doing something against the law, most people do not support that,” he added.
Large parts of Bangkok have continued to function during the shutdown. But the protesters have blocked intersections and surrounded government departments in a bid to disrupt officials’ work.
They say they will remain in place until the government resigns.
In an overnight incident, a witness said several shots were fired towards a protest barricade over a two-hour period. Police said that a man was hit in the ankle and a woman in her arm.
The campaign was triggered by the government’s attempt to pass an amnesty bill that critics said would have allowed Mr Thaksin to return to Thailand without serving a jail sentence for corruption.
Mr Thaksin, who was ousted by the military in 2006, is a deeply divisive figure - loved in rural areas but hated by many of the urban elite, who are at the heart of the current protest movement.