BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) – Holding candles over head and kneeling to pay their respects, tens of thousands of protesters Saturday called on Thailand’s revered king to end a political crisis by replacing Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

“The crisis has reached an impasse,” Sondhi Limthongkul, a key leader in the anti-Thaksin alliance, told the crowd. “We, the king’s subjects, see no other way out in resolving the crisis without causing bloodshed.”

Sondhi and other protest leaders led the crowd outside Thaksin’s office at Government House in singing the king’s anthem, a song honoring the monarchy that is often played at major events.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s top advisers have publicly called for calm and dialogue, but the palace has otherwise kept its distance from the fray because the constitutional monarch is not supposed to get involved in politics.

He has, however, stepped in to resolve national crises in the past, most recently in 1992 after street demonstrations against a military-backed government were violently suppressed.

Thaksin’s opponents, who accuse him of widespread corruption and abuse of power, have held almost daily street protests in recent weeks, at times attracting up to 100,000 demonstrators. In an effort to defuse the crisis, Thaksin called snap elections for April 2, but the main opposition parties have said they will boycott the poll.

Near the prime minister’s office, a crowd of about 50,000 people gathered, police said. Organizers put the numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Demonstrators began gathering in the early afternoon and were expected to stay through the night. They planned to march Sunday to shopping malls in the heart of the capital.

“We are here to fire Thaksin from office,” said Wanwipha Maenmanede, a 45-year-old employee of the state power company EGAT who attended the rally with her husband and 13-year-old daughter. “He is the most corrupt prime minister in the country’s recent history.”

The rally attracted an unusual mix of seasoned political opponents, elderly socialites, businessmen and student activists. Many, wearing the color yellow that has come to symbolize the opposition, said they had participated in the rallies for months and would continue to do so as long as Thaksin is in office.

“The struggle against a dictatorship with nonviolence takes time and patience,” said Nattakan Marat, a 46-year-old businessman wearing a yellow shirt with the words “Fight For The King” and a head band with the slogan “Save The Nation.”

“I will fight, no matter how exhausted I become.”

Police stationed 5,000 officers at Government House, though there were no reports of violence or clashes. In a separate demonstration Saturday, more than 50,000 monks dressed in orange robes gathered near the Grand Palace, chanting mantras and praying for peace, according to the Buddhist Society organizing the event.

The one-hour ceremony ended with the monks, who claimed to have no political affiliations, lighting candles.

Abhisit Vejjajiva, the main opposition leader, told supporters of his Democrat Party that he had asked Thaksin to resign so that the king could appoint an interim government until an election – which Thaksin would be welcome to join – was called.

Thaksin, who has widespread support among the rural population, has campaigned across the country this week, telling voters that he would not bow to mob rule. As he toured an auto show Saturday on the outskirts of Bangkok, the embattled prime minister said it was the “obligation of all parties to nominate candidates for the election, not boycott it.”

Months of small anti-Thaksin rallies blossomed into a mass movement after the prime minister’s family in January announced it had sold its controlling stake in telecommunications company Shin Corp. to Singapore state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings for a tax-free $1.9 billion.

Critics allege the sale involved insider trading and complain that a key national asset is now in a foreign government’s hands. Thaksin is also accused of cracking down on dissent and stifling press freedom.

AP-ES-03-25-06 1705EST