In the 2011 general election, Yingluck Shinawatra and the Pheu Thai Party (PTP) obtained a landslide victory and formed the government with Yingluck as prime minister. Anti-government protests, led by former Democrat Party secretary general Suthep Thaugsuban, began in November 2013. Suthep later formed the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) for the purpose of demanding the establishment of an unelected "people's council" to supervise a "political reform". Pro-government groups, including the Red Shirts, held mass rallies in response. Violence occasionally occurred, resulting in a number of deaths and injuries.[3][4]
In December 2013, Yingluck dissolved the House of Representatives and scheduled a general election for 2 February 2014. Disrupted by the anti-government protesters, the election was not completed on that day. The Constitutional Court then nullified the election on 21 March 2014.[5] On 7 May 2014, the Constitutional Court unanimously removed Yingluck and nine other senior ministers from office over the controversial transfer of a top security officer in 2011.[6][7] The remaining ministers selected Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan to replace Yingluck as caretaker prime minister as protests continued.