Follow us on:   

Thailand: Yingluck to press on with elections
December 29, 2013, 1:46 am

Yingluck has vowed to hold elections in February despite the deaths of three protesters this week [Getty Images]

Yingluck has vowed to hold elections in February despite the deaths of three protesters this week [Getty Images]

A peaceful protest rally in the Thai capital Bangkok turned deadly on Saturday when an unidentified man opened fire on demonstrators, killing one and wounding four others, police officials have said.

The shooting brings to three the number of protesters killed since hundreds of activists seeking to end the rule of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra clashed with police on Thursday.

The protesters have been rallying since November against a bid by the government to officially pardon former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck’s brother.

Thaksin, a former business magnate currently in exile in Dubai,  had been charged with corruption and is meant to serve a jail sentence.

The protesters have also demanded Yingluck resign despite general elections scheduled for February 2. They have vowed to disrupt voter and candidate registration ahead of the polls, and said reforms must be implemented before voters choose a new prime minister.

Meanwhile, Yingluck has rejected a plea from Thailand’s Electoral Commission to postpone the elections.

On Thursday, the Commission cited the lack of stability and the growing violence between protesters and the police as reasons to delay the polls.

Yingluck says she would like to see the establishment of an independent reform body that would investigate corruption and propose changes. But she insists the body would function in tandem with the February 2 elections.

Source: Agencies