Police officer dead in Thailand election protests
Thailand’s election commission urges the government to delay polls scheduled for February, as clashes between police and anti-government protesters kill at least one person and injure dozens.
A police officer was killed in the unrest outside a Bangkok sports stadium where election candidates were gathering to draw lots for their positions on the ballots.
Protesters threw rocks and attempted to break into the building to halt the process, while police fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd.
Four election commissioners left the stadium on a helicopter to escape the turmoil, according to a spokesman for the body.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has insisted the elections will go ahead – in the knowledge her party is likely to win.
Protesters are seeking to oust her and demanding the vote be delayed until she leaves office and reforms are implemented.
Protesters have vowed to disrupt the planned 2 February elections if they go ahead.
The commission said in a statement that it was urging the government to consider “postponing the elections”, citing the security situation.
Commission head Somchai Srisutthiyakorn denied the body was “involving itself in politics” by urging a delay in the polls.
“We have good intentions and want to see peace in this country,” he told reporters.
Government officials did not immediately answer calls seeking a response.
Anti-government protests began in late October, but this week’s violence was the first outbreak in nearly two weeks.
It was not clear how the officer died, but authorities had said earlier that an officer had sustained a bullet wound.
Authorities fear implementing a full crackdown that could provoke greater violence and give the military, which has staged 11 successful coups in the past, a pretext to intervene again.