DHAKA: Anti-government demonstrators in Thailand have surrounded the stadium where candidates were due to register to stand in February’s elections.

They say political reform is needed before elections take place, reports the BBC.

On Sunday, tens of thousands took to the streets of Bangkok, calling on the government to step down.

Thailand prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who called the polls in December try to end the rallies, urged protesters to respect the ‘democratic system’.

The main opposition Democrat Party has said it would boycott February’s elections.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who was previously a senior Democrat Party politician, said on Sunday, ‘We disagree with the election. We want the country to be reformed before the election’.

He urged protesters to gather outside Bangkok’s Thai-Japanese stadium, where candidate registrations were set to take place, on Monday.

‘If you want to apply for candidacy, you must walk past our feet first,’ he said.

Political parties began registering their candidates at a local police station instead, while protesters responded by surrounding the police station as well, correspondents say.

BDST: 1616 HRS, DEC 23, 2013
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor