A Thai anti government protester walks past barricades as he rallies at Government House in Bangkok on January 2, 2014.
Thailand's top anti-government protest leader has announced that demonstrators will lay siege to Bangkok beginning on January 13 and efforts will be intensified to topple the Yingluck Shinawatra government.
The mass rally will start in the morning and 20 stages will be set up at intersections across Bangkok, leader of the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) Suthep Thaugsuban said last night as he invited opponents of the government to take to the streets.
"The overture will start on January 5 when I will lead the march to many places in Bangkok like I previously did," he said.
The former opposition Democrat Party leader said that the protests could last for a month, or until the caretaker government of Yingluck resigned so that political reform was possible.
The protesters also plan to hold daily marches.
PDRC supporters may also gather outside the homes of key government figures to keep them captive, Suthep said.
Meanwhile, the possibility of a February 2 general election being held looked bleak, with legal complications disrupting registration procedures in some provinces, The Nation reported today.
The ruling Pheu Thai Party has urged the Election Commission (EC) to extend candidacy registration and accept the legitimacy of candidates who registered at police stations.
However, the proposals have been turned down by Election Commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, who said the election law clearly states candidacy registration must be carried out at places earlier announced by the EC.
Extending registration, he said, might adversely affect the election's timetable.
Another anti-government leader Satit Wongnongtaey said the dates of the anticipated marches and other measures would be announced within the next few days.
Satit said caretaker premier Yingluck's time was up and her government must end its tenure by the end of this month.
"It's a cancer in the penultimate stage, which will stop spreading once it is removed," he said.
Security has been tightened at the rally site and other areas occupied by two other protest groups.