Pro-election people rally in provincial areas

BANGKOK, January 13 (TNA) - People who are against all forms of violence and support the new general election, set on February 2, 2014, rallied in provincial areas on Monday, when those who support the anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) also marched on and blocked main roads in Bangkok to pressure Thailand's caretaker government to resign and to push for a domestic political reform prior to the new national poll. In Nakhon Phanom Province in the Thai Northeast, pro-election locals from various sectors gathered at the Provincial Hall to show their stance on fully supporting the February 2 general election and to call on all parties to uphold democracy in compliance with the Constitution. In Chiang Rai Province in the Thai North, locals who call themselves peace lovers and against violence, including those of the red-clad pro-government United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), assembled at the Provincial Hall and then marched on all nearby streets to campaign against the so-called "Bangkok shutdown" by the PDRC group. Showing banners against the PDRC and support the new general election, the locals announced that they would continue their strong movement to promote and uphold the country's democratic rule. Like those in several other provinces, pro-government red-shirt people in Ubon Ratchathani Province in the Thai Northeast also rallied in opposition to the “Bangkok Shutdown” by the PDRC, amid tighter security at all local government offices, while urging local voters to turn out for the national poll on February 2. (TNA)