Thai 'Red Shirts' help kick off election campaign

BANGKOK – Leaders of last year's anti-government "Red Shirt" protests have registered their candidacies for a July 3 general election as the politics of the street converges with the politics of the ballot in Thailand.

The election campaign kicked off in earnest Thursday as party leaders drew numbers determining their position on the ballot. The Pheu Thai Party associated with deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his "Red Shirt" supporters drew the desirable No. 1 spot, while incumbent Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's Democrats drew No. 10.

"Red Shirt" leaders are standing this year as Pheu Thai candidates.

By chance, the ballot draw took place on the one-year anniversary of the army's crushing of a two-month-long "Red Shirt" protest in central Bangkok.