Updated – Dec. 9, 2:37 a.m., ET
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has said she will dissolve Parliament and hold a general election on February 2, 2014, following weeks of anti-government protests in Bangkok, some of which turned deadly.
At this stage, when there are many people opposed to the government from many groups, the best way is to give back the power to the Thai people and hold an election.
The anti-government protestors had been specifically targeting government buildings and had repeatedly swarmed the Prime Minster's office.
The Prime Minster's announcement Monday for lower Parliament's dissolution and new elections came as the capitol city braced for more protests. Yingluck said “there will be new elections according to the democratic system.”
On sunday, a day before the Prime Minister's announcement, Thailand's opposition Democrat Party resigned all at once from Parliament to protest the government. They held 153 of the 500 seats in the legislature.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban called on supporters to remain peaceful, but many feared the protests would turn violent as the plan included convering from nine locations on Yingluck's office at Government House.
Since the protests began last month, at least four people have been killed and more than 200 people have been injured.
