election, but remained open to discussions with protesters. In his response to the media on 27 December 2013, Thailand's army chief General Prayut Chan-o-cha did not rule out the possibility of a military coup, stating, "Whether it is going to happen, time will tell. We don't want to overstep the bounds of our authority. We don't want to use force. We try to use peaceful means, talks and meetings to solve the problem." During the same period, an arrest warrant was issued for Suthep by authorities who cited insurrection as the reason, but police did not act on the order for fear of further provocation. Following the announcement of a 60-day emergency decree on 21 January 2014, Yingluck met with the EC on 27 January to discuss the possibility of postponing the election due to the latter's fear of violence on the day of the election. However, following a three-hour meeting, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana informed media that the polling date remained unchanged. Election commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn stated that the EC would organise the 2 February vote to the best of its ability, including the enactment of measures to prevent violence and the staging of a second round of elections to accommodate voters hindered during the inaugural voting stage. During the meeting at the Army Club, an anti-government protester sustained a gunshot wound; the gunman was arrested. The smooth completion of the 2 February election did not resolve Thailand's political situation, as issues of continuing relevancy remained of concern to the caretaker government: firstly, due to protester blockades, 28 constituencies failed to register candidates; secondly, the constitution required at least 475 filled seats, or 95 per cent of the total number of seats, and the problems caused by protesters meant that this target was not reached—the EC, which believes that the final result will fall three seats short, explained that it would be necessary to hold by-elections over several months in problematic constituencies until all 500 members of the parliament's lower house were selected. In the 2011 elections, a 75 per cent voter turnout rate was registered. On 29 January, the Thai Army announced its support of the CMPO operation to protect the election. Deputy army spokesman Winthai Suvari provided details of the deployment of additional military personnel in areas of particular concern and a joint operation with the CMPO to ensure the safety of state officials and