Protesters clash with police in Thailand, 1 dead

The protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy have occupied the prime minister's office since late August.

A mixed system
The want Thailand to abandon the system of one-man, one-vote democracy, which they say gives too much power to the rural poor, whom they accuse of being susceptible to vote buying. Instead the alliance has proposed a mixed system in which some representatives are chosen by certain professions and social groups. They have not explained how exactly such a system would work or what would make it less susceptible to manipulation.

The same group was instrumental in 2006 ouster of Thaksin who lives in exile in London.

When protesters originally took over the grounds of the prime minister's office on Aug. 26, their intention was to oust then-Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej — whom they also accused of being a puppet of Thaksin. They later said they also opposed his successor, Somchai.

Somchai was sworn in as prime minister on Sept. 25 but has been forced to run the government from a makeshift office at Bangkok's airport.

He said he would not resign, dissolve parliament to call new elections, nor declare a state of emergency.

"I came in to do my job, so I will not quit working," he told reporters.

Somchai opened Tuesday's parliamentary session after a 90-minute delay and the chaos escalated outside the building as he spoke. Anti-government protesters regrouped and barricaded all four entrances to the Parliament, saying their goal was to block top officials from leaving the building. The opposition Democrat Party boycotted the speech.

After the parliamentary session ended, lawmakers said they were too afraid to leave the building. Hundreds of people had to wait in the parliamentary compound, which was dark and uncomfortable because the electricity had been cut off. The reason for the power failure was not clear, although the protesters took responsibility.

The chaos prompted Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to resign. Chavalit, who was in charge of security, was seen as a key figure in helping the government to resolve the crisis.

"What happened was partly my responsibility in failing to resolve the conflict," he said in his resignation letter.

The situation returned to relative calm Tuesday night, with most of the protesters returning to their stronghold at the prime minister's office.

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