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488 of the capital’s 6,600 polling stations were shut in the capital

Bangkok

Protesters trying to derail Thailand’s national elections forced the

closure of hundreds of polling stations in a highly contentious vote

that has become the latest flashpoint in the country’s deepening

political crisis.

Around the country, the vast majority of voting stations were open

and polling proceeded relatively peacefully, but the risk of violence

remained high a day after gun battles in Bangkok left seven people

wounded.

The national focus was riveted to the capital where 488 of the

capital’s 6,600 polling stations were shut and several skirmishes

broke out between protesters intent on disrupting the vote and

frustrated would-be voters.

In some cases, protesters formed blockades to prevent voters from

entering polling stations. Elsewhere, protesters blocked the

delivery of ballots and other election materials, preventing voting

stations from opening. The Election Commission said that

hundreds of polling stations in the south, an opposition stronghold,

faced similar problems.

Fears of violence were high after an hour-long gun fight Saturday

erupted at a busy Bangkok intersection between government

supporters and protesters trying to block delivery of ballots. Among

the injured was reporter for the local Daily News newspaper and

American photojournalist, James Nachtwey, who was grazed by a

bullet in the leg.

The exchange of fire was the latest flare-up in a months-long

campaign by protesters to overthrow Ms. Yingluck’s government,

which they accuse of corruption. The violence crystallized the

power struggle that has devolved into a battle of wills between the

government and protesters and those caught between who insist on

their right to vote.

Under heavy police security, Ms. Yingluck cast her vote at a polling

station in northeastern Bangkok, cheered on by supporters.

“Today is an important day,” Ms. Yingluck told reporters. “I would

like to invite Thai people to come out and vote to uphold

democracy.”

Voting was not as easy in other parts of Bangkok.

At one of the more volatile districts of the capital, voters in Din

Daeng scuffled with protesters and hurled bottles at each other

under heavy police security. An Associated Press reporter saw a

protester fire a gunshot after angry voters tried to push their way

past a blockade. There were no injuries reported.

Dozens of voters demanding their right to vote broke into the Din

Daeng district office, which was unable to distribute ballots to the

neighborhood’s voting stations.

“We want an election. We are Thais,” said Narong Meephol, a 63-

year-old Bangkok resident, waving his identification card. “We are

here to exercise our rights.”

Elsewhere, one of Thailand’s more colourful politicians Chuwit

Kamolvisit, an independent candidate, got into a punching,

knock-down brawl with a group of protesters.

“They tried to attack me while I was trying to go vote,” said

Chuwit, a tycoon who made a fortune operating massage parlors

before turning to politics as an anti-corruption campaigner.

Police said they would deploy 100,000 officers nationwide, while

the army is putting 5,000 soldiers into Bangkok to boost security.

More than 48 million people are registered to vote.

A power vacuum may entice the military to step in and declare a

coup as it did in 2006, when Ms. Yingluck’s elder brother, ex-

premier Thaksin Shinawatra, was deposed. Mr. Thaksin lives in

exile but has remained a central and highly polarizing figure in

Thailand’s political strife ever since. The rural majority in the

north adore him for his populist policies, such as virtually free

health care, while Bangkok’s elite and many in the south consider

him and his family a corrupting influence on the country.

Protesters say Ms. Yingluck is a puppet of her billionaire brother.

Another possibility is what is being called a “judicial coup.”

Analysts say the courts and the country’s independent oversight

agencies all tilt heavily against the Shinawatras’ political machine,

and Yingluck’s opponents are already studying legal justifications

to nullify Sunday’s vote.