BANGKOK—One person was killed and several
injured amid clashes between rival political factions in the Thai capital on
Sunday as antigovernment protesters blockaded polling stations, disrupting
advance voting for Feb. 2's national elections.
Suthin Taratin, one of the protesters
attempting to dissuade voters from casting votes at a Buddhist temple in Bangkok's
eastern suburbs was shot and killed by an unknown assailant as he addressed a
crowd from a truck. Mr. Suthin and other protesters had been confronted by
members of the pro-government "Red Shirt" movement who had tried to
make sure that the election went ahead, according to police. Six people were
injured.
The political crisis is heating up as
protesters aiming to scuttle the elections clash with supporters of Prime
Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government.
On Sunday, protesters barricaded polling
centers in Bangkok, forcing Thailand's Election Commission to abandon the vote
in the capital entirely. In some areas, demonstrators chained and padlocked the
gates to polling stations. Voting in some southern provinces also was
disrupted.
Under Thai election rules, voters who register
in advance can cast ballots ahead of the election date. Advance voting went off
without a hitch in central and northern Thailand, demonstrating continuing
support for Ms. Yingluck's government in those regions of the country and
highlighting how badly it is divided over the clash of wills in Bangkok.
The antigovernment camp said it , who call
themselves the People's Democratic Reform Committee,was protesting the vote
rather than obstructing it. Led by former opposition legislator Suthep
Thaugsuban and his supporters, they say Ms. Yingluck's government is under the
sway of her brother, billionaire businessman Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted
as Thailand's prime minister in a military coup in 2006. Their ultimate goal is
to suspend the elections and shake up Thailand's political system to diminish
the influence of populist leaders such as the Shinawatras, who have dominated
Thai elections since the turn of the century.
In a speech to supporters Sunday evening, Mr.
Suthep, who is contesting murder charges relating to a bloody crackdown on
pro-Thaksin protesters while he was deputy premier in 2010, called on the army
to intervene and defend his protest movement from attack. "The people are
calling for protection, not for you to stage a coup," Mr. Suthep said
Ms. Yingluck secured a landslide in the previous
election in 2011 and has repeatedly said the elections must go ahead to enable
the people of Thailand to add their voice to the debate.
Thailand's Constitutional Court , which rules
on political and constitutional matters, on Friday said that the election set
for Feb. 2 can be postponed, adding to the pressure on Ms. Yingluck to delay
the vote. The court ruled that if the independent Election Commission considers
the situation in the country as too volatile to hold an election, it should
propose a delay to the government, which could then seek a royal decree to
postpone the vote or set a new date.
The government's decision is likely to be
contingent on whether the opposition Democrat Party, which has boycotted the
vote, will agree to participate. Even if the February election goes ahead, it
is unlikely to provide a swift resolution to Thailand's problems. While Ms.
Yingluck is almost assured of winning, some 28 electoral districts in the south
have failed to register candidates after antigovernment protesters blockaded
candidate-registration centers. That means the election wouldn't fill the 95%
of the 500-seat parliament required by law to reopen the legislature.
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