Saturday 01 February 2014 12.31 Six people have been injured by explosions and gunshots close to a standoff between supporters and opponents of Thailand's government in the Bangkok.
Anti-government protesters have marched in the capital on the final day of demonstrations denouncing Thailand's election.
Officials have complained that delivery of some ballot papers had been blocked ahead of tomorrow's poll.
The government is pushing ahead with the election, despite protesters' threats to disrupt the vote and stop Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's Puea Thai Party from returning to power.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban has called for a peaceful blockade of roads, but at the same time has vowed not to stop people voting.
Any bloodshed would further undermine the credibility of a vote seen as incapable of restoring stability in the polarised country.
"The people will not close the polling booths, but will demonstrate on the roads. They will demonstrate calmly, peacefully, without violence ... We won't do anything that will hinder people from going to vote," Mr Suthep said last night.
Election Commission secretary-general Puchong Nutrawong said preparations were "almost 100% ready" in the north, northeast and central provinces, but that there were problems getting ballots to districts in Bangkok, as well as 12 provinces in the south, where demonstrators had blocked delivery.
The commission has instructed staff to halt voting if there is rioting or violence.
"We don't want this election to be bloody. We can get every single agency involved to make this election happen, but if there's blood, what's the point?" Mr Puchong said.
The military has stayed firmly on the sidelines so far, in contrast to the past - it has a history of having staged or attempted 18 coups in 81 years of on-off democracy.
The main opposition Democrat party, which backs the anti-government protests, is boycotting the election, which Ms Yingluck's party is bound to win, though without enough members to achieve a quorum in parliament, guaranteeing further stalemate, at best, even if the election passes off peacefully.
Many protesters in Bangkok wore red, the colour of Ms Yingluck's "red shirt" supporters, in today's march, after Mr Suthep said no one had the right to hijack a colour.
There were unconfirmed media reports of an explosive device being thrown near the Chinatown area, but there were no injuries.
Ten people have died and at least 577 have been wounded in politically related violence since late November.
The protesters, camped out at major intersections in the city and blocking key arteries, forced polling stations in 49 of Bangkok's 50 districts to shut last weekend and voting could only go ahead in three of 15 southern provinces.
Some voters were physically pulled away from the polling booths.
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