REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANGKOK - Thailand's government announced Tuesday it would go ahead with an election this weekend despite an opposition boycott, months of street protests and the likelihood of more violence in the country's political crisis. The government made the announcement after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra met with the Election Commission, which had sought a delay in the polls.
The decision to hold Sunday's parliamentary balloting will further inflame tensions and chances of violence. A protest leader was killed and about a dozen others were injured in a clash last Sunday as protesters swarmed dozens of polling stations to stop advance voting. Since Nov. 30, 10 people have died and at least 577 have been injured.
Anti-government protesters occupying parts of Bangkok are demanding that Yingluck step down before any election, and that she be replaced by a non-elected interim government that would institute reforms to remove her family's influence from politics. The opposition Democrat Party, which backs the protests, is boycotting the election.
The crisis pits followers and opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra against each other. Thaksin, a billionaire who is Yingluck's older brother, was deposed by a military coup in 2006 after being accused of corruption and abuse of power, and since then the two sides have been engaged in a sometimes violent struggle for power.
Yingluck's supporters, including many people in the countryside who benefited from Thaksin's populist policies, are demanding that they be allowed to vote.
"The longer this crisis goes on, the more dangerous it becomes," said Chris Baker, a Bangkok-based political analyst and writer. "The economy is clearly suffering already. It will suffer more the longer it goes on. The chances of violence keep increasing because emotions are getting stoked up."
Several hundred protesters laid siege to Tuesday's meeting between Yingluck and the Election Commission. Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said more violence was likely during the polls and would further damage the country.
"I think Thailand has suffered enough and no one should be hurt or die from this election," Somchai told reporters.
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