In pictures: Thais confront protests to vote in general election

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  An anti-government protester waves inside a district office next to election boxes which are to be delivered to polling stations, just before the beginning of voting in Bangkok. Nir Elias

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  A Thai villager places his thumb pm a ballot paper prior to casting his vote at a polling station in Narathiwat province. AFP

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  Thai soldiers pose with their identity cards as they wait to vote. The army deployed 5,000 soldiers in Bangkok to boost security for Sunday's general election. AP Photo

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  A voter holds the chains that held the gate of the polling station closed, demanding the right to vote in Bangkok. The national focus was riveted on the capital where 488 of the city’s 6,600 polling stations were shut and several skirmishes broke out between protesters intent on disrupting the vote and frustrated would-be voters. AP Photo

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  A woman casts her vote in a ballot box at a polling station in Narathiwat province. Voting began in Thailand's troubled election but anti-government protesters forced the closure of more than 10 per cent of polling stations nationwide, an election commission official said. AFP

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  Thai soldiers stand outside a closed polling station in central Bangkok. The election commission said the closure of polls affected more than 6 million registered voters. AFP

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  Around the country, the vast majority of voting stations were open and polling proceeded relatively peacefully, but the risk of violence remained high a day after gun battles in Bangkok left seven people wounded. AP Photo

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  Frustrated Thai voters try to force their way through a line of police officers, including plainclothes officers, blocking the entrance to a polling station as voting was cancelled after anti-government protesters prevented the delivery of election material in Bangkok. AFP

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  Because protesters blocked candidate registration in some districts, parliament will not have enough members to convene. AFP

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  The protesters, above, are minority that cannot win power at the polls. They are demanding the government be replaced by an unelected council that would rewrite political and electoral laws to combat deep-seated problems of corruption and money politics. EPA

Although balloting was largely peaceful, protesters forced thousands of polling booths to close in Bangkok and the south, disenfranchising millions of registered voters.