Thousands of Thai protesters marched on the offices of the country's election commission Thursday demanding the last-minute cancellation of this weekend's polls.
The latest protest in two months of political turmoil followed a Bangkok sit-in overnight that drew around 50,000 people onto the streets calling on Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to step down before Sunday's vote.
"This is a very critical moment. Only people power can force Prime Minister Thaksin to quit," rally leader Chamlong Srimuang told the crowd, which waved banners calling the commission members "political criminals."
But support for Chamlong's movement appeared to be waning. He cut short the sit-in at a major Bangkok retail district, which was originally planned to run until Friday, after widespread complaints over traffic jams.
Organisers have already started speaking of new protests after the election, seeming to acknowledge that their campaign has failed to derail the polls.
A survey conducted Monday indicated support for Thaksin went up in March. Only about 26 percent of Bangkok residents said he should resign, down from 48 percent three weeks earlier.
Thaksin seems guaranteed to win the vote, which he called three years early in hopes of ending the street protests calling for his resignation over allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
But with opposition parties boycotting the election and hundreds of candidates disqualified, not enough lawmakers may be elected to confirm him to office - meaning the political crisis could continue.
Chamlong said the current election commissioners should resign so that new members could be named to investigate their claims of fraud by Thaksin's party in the run-up to the vote.
Commission chief Vasana Puemlarp insisted that the body was conducting a neutral investigation into the fraud claims.
"I can reassure everyone that the commission is not dragging its feet over the investigation into their allegations," he told reporters. "We remain neutral."
Amid the latest protests, Thaksin has kept a low profile. He made a pilgrimage to his hometown of Chiang Mai for religious services, returning to Bangkok on Thursday for meetings with his top aides.
Thaksin cancelled his final campaign rally, which had been scheduled for Friday night in a downtown Bangkok park, for fear of clashes with the protesters.
But he urged the demonstrators to respect the outcome of the election.
"Our country cannot be in prolonged confusion. Everything must be in line with the rules," Thaksin said, promising to push for national reconciliation after the polls.
Thaksin has refused to resign and insisted that the polls would be a referendum on his leadership. He has promised not to take office if he wins less than 50 percent of the vote.
Public anger erupted in January after Thaksin's family pocketed nearly two billion dollars in the tax-free sale of its stake in Shin Corp, the telecoms giant Thaksin founded before entering public office.
Around 100,000 people rallied in Bangkok on Saturday in the biggest demonstration so far. The opposition has rejected Thaksin's offer to form a government coalition if he wins, insisting that he must stand down.
The main support for protesters has come from the middle-class in Bangkok but a poll Tuesday indicated that moving the rallies into the center of the capital could cost the demonstrators support, with traffic concerns a possible factor.
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