Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban
greets supporters during a march in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday,
February 3. Anti-government protesters disrupted voting in roughly
one-fifth of Thailand's electoral districts in national elections
Sunday, February 2, authorities said.
Protests in Thailand's national election
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Thailand's constitutional court has declared the country's February 2 election invalid
- An opposition boycott and protests meant candidates were not fielded in all constituencies
- The court said voting must take place across the country on the same day to be lawful
- Its decision is final and no appeal can be filed, meaning new elections must be held
The opposition's boycott
of the vote and widespread anti-government protests meant that
candidates were not fielded in 28 constituencies. It had been expected
that voting would take place in those areas at a later date.
However, the court's six
to three majority verdict cannot be appealed, meaning a new general
election must be held across the South East Asian country.
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called elections in December, in an attempt to end political unrest.
Amnesty bill
Yingluck is the brother
of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a
military coup in 2006 and now lives in exile. Yingluck's critics accuse
her of being a proxy for her brother, who was convicted of corruption
charges in 2008 and sentenced to prison in absentia.
Yingluck's government was
largely stable until her party attempted to pass a controversial
amnesty bill in November, sparking a wave of protests. The bill would
have nullified Thaksin's corruption conviction and allowed him to return
to the country.
EXCLUSIVE: One-on-one with Thai PM
Life in Bangkok amidst political chaos
Protesters vow to continue to protest
Thai elections inconclusive
Anti-government
protesters have been demanding that an unelected "people's council" be
given the power to carry out political and electoral changes in a
country where parties affiliated with Thaksin have dominated elections
since 2001.
The main opposition
Democrat Party boycotted the February 2 polls and protesters blocked
officials from gathering ballots and obstructed voter registration in
many constituencies.
That left the outcome of
the election inconclusive, without enough results to reopen parliament,
and with Yingluck in charge of a caretaker government.
Red shirt protest
More than 20 people have
been killed and hundreds wounded since the protests erupted, with
Yingluck's supporters -- the "red shirts" clashing with anti-government
protesters.
The red shirts have
announced they will hold a rally this weekend in Pattaya city, about 90
minutes from Bangkok. CNN's Kocha Olarn says the constitutional court's
ruling will likely result in a huge turnout.
The conflict has
deepened the country's political divide. The anti-government movement
draws its support from southern Thailand, Bangkok's middle class and the
established elites. Yingluck's base is in the less affluent but more
populous regions north and east of the capital.
The Bangkok Post reported that the court hearing was held at the request of Thailand's Office of the Ombudsman. It followed the lodging of a complaint by a law lecturer who argued the February vote was unlawful, the paper said.
State of emergency
Earlier this week, the Thai government ended a 60-day state of emergency imposed on Bangkok and several surrounding areas in the run-up to the election.
The state of emergency
had given authorities the power to impose curfews, detain suspects
without court permission, censor media and declare parts of the capital
off limits.
It has been replaced with the Internal Security Act (ISA), which will be in effect until April 30.
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