parties that are involved with thaksin shinawatra, outside in a coup, that is yingluck shinawatra's brother, have one all elections since 2001. those that have taken to the streets of bangkok, trying to force the government out over the past three months believe that they are corrupt, there are five votes and they want the shinawatra family removed for good. >> 10,000 polling stations were unable to open. we are talking about 90% operating normally. will boycotting the vote have made any difference to those that want the shinawatra family out altogether. >> we are heading into an unknown area. those figures have come out from the election commission. 89-90% of the polling stations able to operate normally. it is also said that by elections will take place on february 23rd, and we will not know the election results until then. we are in an unknown period. we are expecting something from the largest opposition party, the democrats, the party behind the protesters, to make a statement in the next few hours. it could be significant because of legal proceedings. there's a chance that somebody, t

she is accused of acting as a proxy for her billionaire brother, thaksin shinawatra. monday, demonstrators cemented shut the gates to thernment house to prevent prime minister from working. elections were held on february did little to appease demonstrators. the opposition boycotted the vote. protesters say they won't go home and the government steps down. syrian regime insists a cease-fire has been implemented in suburbs of damascus. the military has allowed western journalists to witness the return of civilians previously forced to flee homes during the war. a few days after the second round of peace talks failed in geneva last week. elena reports. the syrian flag hangs in the suburbs of damascus. crowds chant their support for the syrian army. a warng ago, this was zone. civilians are returning home thanks to a truce between the army and rebel groups. western journalists were brought here by the syrian government to show the state can reach its own local cease-fires separately from the stall geneva peace talks. inwe are interested reconciliation more than in geneva

he and his supporters believe she is controlled by her brother thaksin shinawatra, a former prime minister. the military ousted him in 2006. suthep called for protesters to take the streets again. analysts say the ruling pheu thai party is projected to score a landslide victory. election officials say they won't release the results until a new round of voting is held in the districts where it was canceled. so know one knows when the new government will be sworn in. >>> the stalemate in thailand is now threatening to undermine the economy. nhk world has a report. >> reporter: in thailand, casting a shadow over the nation's economy. the country has openly praised one of the students in the developing asian region for its economic role but analysts are now starting to worry about economic damage. >> translator: some companies are already postponing their investments, or shrinking production. and now the government is being blocked from implementing the budget, which is hurting the economy. >> reporter: thailand's economy largely depends on foreign investment. recent moves by japanese firms, e

prime minister thaksin shinawatra voted under heavy security. protesters are trying to shut down the election. they have forced polling stations to close. that's anger in the prime minister's mini supporters. earlier gun battles broke out in bangkok between demonstrators. violence is erupting between voters voting and protesters stopping it. seven people were hurt. >> this is exactly the build up to sunday's election that everyone in thailand feared. these people moving down the road are anti-government protesters, coming from a central bank cock stage, joining another protest at a government building a few metres down the road. in the area is a pro-government group, and as these protesters have been moving down here, there's a lot of gun fire coming from somewhere, and explosions. there's little security. there are some soldiers, and some police, little security. at the moment, you can see the protesters moving down the road. this was an area of bangkok that the security forces, military and police warned could see violence on election day. we

in thailand, and -- >> you mean the caretaker prime minister yingluck shinawatra's brother thaksin shinawatra. >> that's right, he is calling the shots. negotiating is not an issue for thaksin right now. he doesn't want to negotiate. he wants to be a caretaker government until the longest that he can take. the thing is what is really, really crucial -- >> the other side, what they want seems to be anti-democracy. this is a criticism that we heard. why are they blocking the vote. it was a disruption to the ballot that made this unsatisfactory. >> yes, a free and fair election can only take place if the climate is correct. nobody can have control over the police, have control over the attorney-general's office. during the election ballot counting you have the police force, you can do a lot of things that you can never do as an opposition. >> thailand has been through social and economic changes over the last 10-20. in the past you'd have strong people stepping in to solve the problems. how do you see this being resolved. >> i see this as a very possible sign, and among the -- >> what, the elect