Thai government says elections February 2

Thai anti-government protesters walk under a huge Thai national flag to the government house in Bangkok, Thailand Monday, Dec. 9, 2013. Thailand’s government said that elections will be held on February 2. AP

BANGKOK, Thailand—Thailand’s government said Monday that elections will be held on February 2, hours after the Prime Minister dissolved the Lower House of Parliament in a bid to calm the country’s deepening political crisis.

Spokesman Teerat Ratanasevi said that the date was set during a Cabinet meeting in Bangkok.

The surprise move came as more than 150,000 protesters vowing to overthrow Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s government marched peacefully through the capital’s streets for a “final showdown.”

Analysts said the elections are unlikely to satisfy opponents who want to rid Thailand of the influence of Yingluck’s powerful family. The protesters are pushing for a non-elected “People’s Council” to replace her democratically elected government.

Yingluck had said in a televised speech earlier she would remain in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is elected.

Thailand has been plagued by political turmoil since the army toppled Yingluck’s brother Thaksin in a 2006 coup. The protesters accuse Yingluck of serving as a proxy for her brother who lives in self-imposed exile in Dubai to avoid jail time for a corruption conviction he says was politically motivated.

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