The Thai police were today bracing for riots amid rising anger over the country's election chaos, which has seen the winner banned from politics and facing jail.

Footage taken this afternoon shows the Royal Thai Police headquarters in Bangkok with sheets of blue tarpaulin covering a portrait of the king - often a target of anti-establishment sentiment - and water cannon trucks parked outside.

Locals have begun demonstrating in recent weeks following the bizarre national poll on May 15, in which winner Pita Limjaroenrat of the progressive Move Forward Party was blocked from becoming Prime Minister by the army.

In a double-whammy to any hopes of democracy in the developing country, Pita was suspended and is facing up to 10 years in jail and a 20-year ban from politics over shares held by his late father in an inactive media company.

Establishment figures who retain control of the country said Pita's winning manifesto to water down Lese Majeste laws was a 'threat to national security'.