Thailand election: Millions prepare to vote
On Saturday, protesters blockaded a centre in Bangkok and stopped ballot papers from being distributed Millions of Thais are preparing to vote in a general election boycotted by the opposition and blighted by protests.
Anti-government protesters say they will disrupt voting across Thailand and continue their campaign to force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to quit.
They took part in a 30-minute gun battle with government supporters in Bangkok on Saturday.
Ms Yingluck, who won the last election in 2011, called the vote to head off mass protests that began in November.
Her opponents took to the streets after her government tried to pass an amnesty law that would potentially have allowed her brother, Thaksin, to return from exile.
Thaksin, a former prime minister who fled during a court case in 2008, is reviled by the protesters, who say he controls the government from abroad.
Security is heavy throughout Thailand, with vast areas under a state of emergency because of the protests.
Security officials said about 130,000 personnel would be deployed across Thailand on Sunday, including 12,000 in Bangkok.
Polling stations open at 08:00 (01:00 GMT), but there has been little campaigning and it is unclear how many Thais will turn out.
Polling is likely to be severely disrupted in Bangkok and the south, strongholds of the opposition Democrat Party, which is boycotting the election.
Ballot blockadeTrouble broke out in Bangkok on Saturday when pro-government groups tried to access a building that was storing ballot papers.
Anti-government protesters had blockaded the building, and opened fire with handguns and rifles, sending journalists and passers-by fleeing for cover.
Footage from the scene showed pro-government protesters nursing injuries, and anti-government protesters firing guns.
Some anti-government protesters were armed with guns during clashes on Saturday 
The gun battle forced reporters, passers-by and even soldiers to run for cover 
Some government supporters were seen bloodied, apparently with gunshot wounds Correspondents say less unrest is expected in the rural north and east, because Ms Yingluck's Pheu Thai party has such overwhelming support.
The Democrat Party, which is allied to the protesters, has been unable to win a majority in parliament for more than two decades.
Many of their members want the government to be replaced by an unelected "people's council" that would oversee wide reform of the political system.
Even if the election passes off peacefully, the result will almost certainly be challenged in the courts and could be annulled.
Ms Yingluck's party is already facing a host of legal challenges that could see it disbanded, as has happened with pro-Thaksin parties in the past.
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