Thailand should call off election, says electoral commission 26 December 2013 Last updated at 09:08 Thailand should not hold an election in February because the risk of violence against candidates is too high, the electoral commission has said. The commission called on the government to postpone the 2 February vote. Bangkok police clashed earlier with protesters who were trying to prevent candidates from registering. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called the snap election after weeks of protests that demanded an unelected "people's council" take power. The demonstrators dismissed the election, and the official opposition has refused to field candidates. Protesters have further rejected another offer by Ms Yingluck to form a national reform council intended to run alongside her government. Sep 2006: Army ousts Thaksin Shinawatra Dec 2007: Pro-Thaksin party wins election Aug 2008: Thaksin flees Thailand Dec 2008: Huge anti-Thaksin protests; court bans ruling party; Abhisit Vejjajiva comes to power Mar-May 2010: Huge pro-Thaksin protests; dozens killed in army crackdown Jul 2011: Yingluck Shinawatra elected PM Nov 2013: Anti-government protests Dec 2013: Ms Yingluck calls election They want Ms Yingluck to step down immediately. On Thursday, the protesters - some of whom were throwing stones - tried to break into the stadium where the electoral commission was registering candidates. But police responded with tear gas, dispersing the crowd. There were no reports of serious injuries. Last Sunday, she said the election must take place and urged protesters to express their views at the ballot box. "If we don't hold on to the democratic system, what should we hold on to," she asked. Her Pheu Thai Party won the last election in 2011 and has a big majority in parliament. However, protesters say her brother - ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra - remains in charge. The latest crisis was sparked after the government attempted to pass an amnesty law that would have allowed Thaksin to return to Thailand. He is still hugely popular in rural areas and in the north, and parties linked to him have won convincing majorities in every election they have contested since 2001. But many city-dwellers bitterly oppose Mr Thaksin and have several times paralysed governments allied to him by launching massive demonstrations.