Thai opposition to boycott 2 February elections as mass protests continue
London – The main opposition party in Thailand has announced it will boycott snap elections set for 2 February.
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told a news conference it would not be fielding candidates, saying that Thai politics is at a failed stage.
According to the BBC, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called the election earlier this month in a bid to end weeks of mass protests.
For the second time in a decade, Thailand’s oldest political party is boycotting an election.
The opposition-backed protests in Bangkok have caused Thailand’s most serious political turmoil since 2010.
At his news conference, Abhisit told reporters his party had agreed it would not field candidates in the snap elections.
PM Shinawatra had dissolved parliament and called the election on 9 December in a bid to avoid violence on the streets and ‘to give back the power to the Thai people,’ the report added.
