Parliament dissolved, Thai polls set for Feb 2

BANGKOK - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved Parliament and called for snap elections Monday, as tens of thousands of people hit the streets of Bangkok and surrounded her office in a bid to overthrow her administration.

The Royal Gazette announced that the King had approved the dissolution and polls are set for Feb 2.

But Ms Yingluck's move did not placate protesters as their aim is not fresh elections, but the creation of a "people's council" led by a royally-appointed premier. Through this, they want to rid the country of the influence of Thaksin Shinawatra, Ms Yingluck's brother, who was premier until he was deposed by a coup in 2006.

Thaksin lives in self-imposed exile in Dubai to evade a jail term for corruption convictions, which he says are politically motivated. He remains popular among the rural masses in the north-east, which guarantees election victory for the ruling Puea Thai party.

The political turmoil is the worst to hit ASEAN's second largest economy since 2010, and brings fresh uncertainty to the country, which had up to now enjoyed a relatively stable two years under Puea Thai.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, speaking to the crowd in front of the Prime Minister's Office - also known as Government House - declared the people had triumphed and rejected the authority of Ms Yingluck's caretaker government.

The dissolution came a day after the opposition Democrats resigned en masse from Parliament to join Monday's protest, saying they could not work with a government that had lost its legitimacy.

Hours before the mass resignations, Ms Yingluck had proposed a referendum, saying she was prepared to resign or call for fresh elections if that was wanted by the majority of the people.

According to the law, elections have to be called within 60 days, but it remains to be seen if it would be boycotted by the Democrats, who have not won an election since 1992.

Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told Reuters that the dissolution is the "first step" in solving Thailand's political crisis. He would not confirm if the Democrats would contest in the upcoming election, but said: "Today we march. I will walk with the people to Government House."

According to police estimates, some 150,000 had turned out on the streets by 4.30pm Monday. Bangkok residents were joined by those who had travelled from other provinces.

Among them was energy firm director Rittisak Chupaitoon, 50, who said: "All the previous governments were corrupt, but this one is too corrupt."

The protests started in late October in response to a Puea Thai-sponsored Bill that would grant amnesty to Thaksin, among other people, growing into a full-blown anti-government movement even after the ruling party later retreated on the amnesty plans.

Among those agitating against Thaksin are royalists, elites and the urban middle class - the same group who massed on the streets against his premiership in 2006. They have pitched their campaign as a fight against corruption, though critics argue that it is a power grab by the elites trying to circumvent the electoral process.

Analyst Kan Yuenyong from Siam Intelligence Unit expects protest leaders to try to keep up the protests until the people's council is formed.

"The protest is just another instrument of the anti-Thaksin camp," he said.

"They will likely try many means to create a vacuum of power, so that they can set up an interim government to run for a couple of years."

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