Deadly clashes won't stop election, says Thai government
Government refuses to delay vote despite threat of more violence
Thailand’s election commission urged the government on Thursday to postpone February polls after a policeman was shot dead and dozens of people wounded in clashes between security forces and opposition protesters in Bangkok.
The violence deepened the crisis facing Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose government has been shaken by weeks of mass street rallies seeking to curb her family’s political dominance.
The political conflict broadly pits a Bangkok-based middle class and elite against rural and working-class voters loyal to Yingluck’s older brother Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted as premier in a military coup in 2006.
Protesters are not peaceful and unarmed … They are intimidating officials
The protesters – who want to overthrow Yingluck’s government and install an unelected “people’s council” in its place – accuse the billionaire tycoon-turned-politician of corruption and say he controls his sister’s government from his base in Dubai.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Thursday after demonstrators tried to force their way into a sports stadium in the capital where representatives of about 30 political parties were gathered for the registration process for the February 2 election.
Nearly 100 people from both sides were injured, according to the emergency services.
Twenty-five police officers were hospitalised, with 10 in serious condition, according to a police spokesman. One police officer died of a gunshot wound.