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Thai opposition to boycott 2 February elections | Thai opposition to boycott 2 February elections |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Thailand's main opposition Democrat Party has announced it will boycott snap elections set for 2 February. | Thailand's main opposition Democrat Party has announced it will boycott snap elections set for 2 February. |
Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told a news conference it would not be fielding candidates, saying: "Thai politics is at a failed stage". | Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told a news conference it would not be fielding candidates, saying: "Thai politics is at a failed stage". |
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called the election earlier this month in a bid to end weeks of mass protests. | Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called the election earlier this month in a bid to end weeks of mass protests. |
The head of the Thai army has warned the country's political divisions could "trigger a civil war". | The head of the Thai army has warned the country's political divisions could "trigger a civil war". |
General Prayuth Chan-ocha has proposed a "people's assembly" - made up of civilians from both sides, not the leaders, to heal the divisions. | General Prayuth Chan-ocha has proposed a "people's assembly" - made up of civilians from both sides, not the leaders, to heal the divisions. |
The opposition-backed protests in Bangkok have caused Thailand's most serious political turmoil since 2010. | |
Ms Yingluck won the last elections in 2011, but protesters say her brother - the controversial ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra - remains in charge. | |
'Lost faith' | |
At his news conference, Mr Abhisit told reporters his party had agreed it would not field candidates in the snap elections. | |
"The Thai people have lost their faith in the democratic system," he said. | "The Thai people have lost their faith in the democratic system," he said. |
The prime minister dissolved parliament and called the election on 9 December in a bid, she said, to avoid violence on the streets and "to give back the power to the Thai people". | |
Her Pheu Thai party has a majority in parliament, and draws significant support from Thailand's rural areas. It is seen as well-placed to win February's election. | Her Pheu Thai party has a majority in parliament, and draws significant support from Thailand's rural areas. It is seen as well-placed to win February's election. |
General Prayuth Chan-ocha said he was deeply concerned by the latest crisis, with divisions not just in Bangkok but across the whole country. | |
"The situation could trigger a civil war," he told the Bangkok Post. | |
Setting out his vision of a "people's assembly", he said it should be made up of people from both sides of the political divide - known as the "red shirts", those who support Thaksin Shinawatra, and the "yellow shirts", those who oppose him. | |
"It must be from a neutral group and comprise non-core representatives of all colours, and all colour leaders must be excluded," he said. | |
He did not give details on how or when the assembly would be set up, but said any proposal "must come from a public consensus and the public must brainstorm how to reach that consensus". | |
He stressed his grouping would be different to the "people's council" proposed by the opposition. | |
"The people's assembly must not be organised or sponsored by any conflicting group, as it would not be accepted by the other side," he said. | |
His comments came after a defence council meeting on Friday to discuss the 2 February election. | |
Defence spokesman Col Thanatip Sawangsaeng said the army "is ready to support the Election Commission in organising the elections when asked". | |
But a military source has told the BBC that privately the army believes it would be better for the election to be delayed - as sought by the opposition parties. | |
Protests began nearly a month ago after Thailand's lower house passed a controversial amnesty bill, which critics said could allow Thaksin Shinawatra to return without serving time in jail. | |
Mr Thaksin is currently in self-imposed exile after he was overthrown in a military army coup in 2006 and convicted of corruption. | |
The protesters say the former prime minister remains the power behind the ruling Pheu Thai party, and accuse it of using public funds irresponsibly to secure votes. |