Thai protesters demonstrate for revolution despite prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra calling snap election Around 140,000 protesters took to the streets of Bangkok today That is despite the Prime Minister's announcement of a snap election Yingluck Shinawatra's ruling party is likely to win any ballot Hope is that it will cool political tensions without any need for compromise She is seen as a pawn for her brother Thaksin who left the country in 2008 Thousands of protesters took to the street of Bankok in Thailand today despite the Prime Minister announcing a snap election to try and calm the unrest. Leader Yingluck Shinawatra's party is likely to win the contest, which she hopes will cool political tensions without the need for her to bow to demonstrator's demands for leadership change. However activists say they will not participate in another ballot, and insist that Yingluck must leave office before they stop the rallies which brought 140,000 people onto the streets today. Around 140,000 people took to the streets in Bangkok today where protests have raged for more than a month calling for Yingluck to stand down Democrat MPs resigned en masse in protest on Sunday at the ruling party's dominance of parliament Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has announced a snap election as she tries to stop anti-government protests in the capital Bangkok Yingluck is commonly seen as a pawn for her brother Thaksin who was exiled in 2008 after parties backing him won every election for almost a decade The 'yellow shirt' activists are made up of the middle-classes, the royalist elite, and the military and are pitted against the working class 'red shirts' who support Thaksin The activists have stormed government buildings and clashed with police in the past few weeks in their attempts to set up an unelected 'People's Council' to reform the country's laws before holding fresh elections. Yingluck's Puea Thai party have said she is likely to be their candidate for the election which will take place on February 2. Addressing a cheering crowd from a newly-erected stage near the government headquarters, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban announced plans to set up a parallel government and told supporters they should be prepared to set up camp at the site. Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban spoke to demonstrators today and said there would be no end to the rallies until Yingluck was gone from power He is calling for an end to the democratic system in the country and a 'People's Council' to be established which would reform laws before holding fresh elections So far five people have been killed and 100 injured after police clashed with the political activists Last week officers used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons in an attempt to disperse protesters Royalist anti-government protesters hold up a portrait of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and a placard reading 'We don't need Thaksin regime' 'We will select a people's prime minister and set up a government of the people and a people's assembly to replace parliament,' said Suthep, who faces an arrest warrant for insurrection. So far five people have died and 100 have been injured in clashes in with police who used tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons to disperse activists throwing rocks. Yingluck is unpopular because she is seen as a pawn for her brother, Thaksin, who once described her as his 'clone'. Thaksin is a businessman-turned-politician who was exiled from the country following a revolution in 2008 after being convicted of corruption - a charge he says is politically motivated. The unrest has brought parts of Bangkok to a standstill as the yellow shirts push for revolution The yellow shirts are opposed to another election which will favour the current government Protests began after Yingluck tried to pass an amnesty bill, seen by critics as a way to bring Thaksin back Thaksin is in exile to avoid jail for a corruption sentence which he claims was politically motivated Experts have predicted more violence if the yellow shirts are successful as the red shirts are likely to protest Pro-Thaksin parties have won every election in more than a decade, while the opposition Democrat Party - whose MPs resigned en masse Sunday - has not won an elected majority in about two decades. The protest started after Yingluck tried to pass an amnesty bill which critics of the government saw as paving the way for Thaksin's return. The conflict has pitted the middle classes, the royalist elite, and the military - known as 'yellow shirts' - on one side, against working class 'red shirts' and supporters of Thaksin on the other. 'If this government is deposed, it will be an outcome of a so-called 'people's coup' by the electoral minority,' said Thailand expert Thitinan Pongsudhirak. Dozens of red shirts were killed in a crackdown while demonstrating against the last government Parts of the city centre have been virtually closed down by protesters as they march down the highways While most of the demonstrations have been peaceful a few have turned violent The country has been in political turmoil since 2006 when there was a military coup The violence had only a brief respite last week when both sides paused to celebrate the birthday of the nation's revered king, who turned 86 on Thursday 'We will see more polarisation - and the makings of a prolonged civil conflict,' added Thitinan, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. Dozens of people were killed in a military crackdown on mass pro-Thaksin Red Shirt rallies in Bangkok three years ago against the previous government. If Yingluck is overthrown, 'we will see most likely the return of the Red Shirts to Bangkok and when they unleash their wrath this time it will be much more cataclysmic than what we saw in the uprising in 2009-2010,' Thitinan added.