10,000 troops on standby ahead of Thai poll

Thailand's army says it will increase the number of troops in the capital on standby to 10,000 ahead of Sunday's election that anti-government protesters say they will disrupt as part of their campaign to overthrow Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
The government's decision to press ahead with the February 2 election has inflamed tensions in the capital, Bangkok, where the protesters have blockaded main intersections and forced many ministries to close their doors this month, according to Al Jazeera News on Jan 30.
"In addition to the 5,000 soldiers we have already deployed in and around Bangkok to help monitor security, we will be increasing troops around protest sites as there are people trying to instigate violence," army spokesman Winthai Suvaree told Reuters news agency.
Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay reports that tens of thousands of police will also be deployed across Thailand as security remains a huge concern for the government.
Protesters have said they plan to fill the streets starting on Thursday through the election on Sunday in Bangkok and in other polling centres around the country as part of its boycott of the vote. Opposition leaders plan to set up stages in public places like city halls to disrupt the vote, but that they say they will not physically prevent anyone from voting at the polls.
The government imposed a state of emergency in the capital from Jan 22 to help maintain order. A protest leader sought a court ruling on the legality of the emergency and a civil court agreed on Thursday to hear the case.