"It doesn't matter if you're fed up with me, but you have just one vote like everyone else," Thaksin told his opponents. (Reuters)

BANGKOK, February 25, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Thailand's opposition parties on Saturday, February 25, discussed boycotting snap polls, potentially boosting a growing campaign against embattled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the risk that political unrest could spill onto the streets.

"The party has voted in a closed-door meeting that the Democrats will not send any candidates for this election," a source in the biggest opposition party told Agence France -Presse (AFP) on condition of anonymity.

The party was due to officially announce its stance on the elections later Saturday, along with two other small opposition parties, Chart Thai and Mahachon.

Amid mounting pressure to quit, Thaksin dissolved parliament on Friday, February 24, forcing a new vote three years ahead of schedule.

Analysts see the move as countering demands to step down, with Thaksin likely to ride his current popularity to a fresh mandate.

The opposition is accusing the prime minister of undermining the checks and balances of the constitution and tailoring policy to suit his family's business.

Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon, is under fire for his family's 1.9 billion dollar tax-free sale of stocks in Shin Corp -- the telecoms giant he founded before entering politics -- to foreign investors in January.

Critics at home and abroad have also accused Thaksin's government of using heavy-handed tactics against Thai Muslims who make up five percent of the population.

Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat are the only Muslim-majority provinces in Buddhist Thailand and were an independent Muslim sultanate until annexed officially a century ago.

Boycott

People's Alliance for Democracy (PAFD), a coalition of opposition groups outside parliament, has already decided to boycott the polls.

"The People's Alliance for Democracy is calling for everybody to reject this election," said spokesman Suriyasai Katasila.

"The election will even lead to more chaos in forming government ... Thaksin dissolved parliament just to conceal his faults and escape his wrongdoing."

Somkiat Pongpaiboon, a member of the Alliance's five-strong central committee, questioned the neutrality of the incumbent government in supervising elections.

"This man should not be in Thai politics anymore," he said.

Also Saturday, major Thai newspapers rebuffed Thaksin's decision, saying the public wanted his resignation, not a snap election.

"It should not be allowed to distract attention from the real issues of Thaksin's actions over the past five years and his lack of fitness to rule," the English-daily Nation said in an editorial.

But the embattled premier kept firm that polls should be the decisive factor to decide his political fate.

"The government must be decisive and return the power to the people to decide whether they still want this administration or not," Thaksin said.

He vowed not to surrender to what he termed as "mob rule."

"It doesn't matter if you're fed up with me, but you have just one vote like everyone else. So I urge all voters to turn out for this historic election to cast your vote," he said.

Rallies

Thaksin's announcement came ahead of a planned anti-government rally on Sunday, February 26, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of protesters.

"He is very concerned about the anti-Thaksin movement because of its size. It has become spontaneous and has taken life of its own," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University.

Authorities estimate as many as 50,000 people could turn out Sunday while the PAFD, the organizer, expects 100,000 Thaksin opponents to show up.

Thaksin worries the protest may turn into a repeat of the bloody demonstrations in 1992 against the military-backed government that killed at least 52 people and saw the disappearance of 175 more.

Fears of violence rose after Chamlong Srimuang, a leader in the 1992 street battles, joined the anti-Thaksin camp and vowed to continue demonstrating until his former political protégé stepped down.

Any unrest during Sunday's rally would undermine Thaksin's legitimacy, said Panitan Wattanayagorn, visiting professor of Thai politics at The Johns Hopkins University.

"If some protesters die on Sunday, like the 1992 incident, his legitimacy will be in serious trouble. He may not be able to come back again as a leader."

Sunday's rally is the third this month demanding Thaksin's resignation.

Some 50,000 people already joined a February 4-5 rally in Bangkok in the biggest anti-government protest since Thaksin took office in 2001.

A week later, 20,000 people gathered in the capital to demand his resignation.