Update | Seven hurt in gunfire as political rivals clash in Bangkok ahead of polls

Gunfire rang out at a major intersection in Thailand's capital yesterday as clashes between protesters and government supporters erupted on the eve of tense nationwide elections.

At least seven people were wounded, including an American photojournalist.

The confrontation began after a group of pro-government supporters marched to a district office in northern Bangkok containing ballot boxes that had been surrounded by protesters who have been trying to derail the vote.

The two sides first clashed with rocks and firecrackers, then with pistols and assault rifles. One group of men carrying sticks smashed the windscreens of a car carrying protesters that sped away. People caught up in the mayhem took refuge inside a nearby shopping mall and hid along a pedestrian bridge while others crouched behind vehicles.

According to the city's emergency services, at least six Thais were wounded, including a reporter for the local newspaper. American photojournalist James Nachtwey was shot in the leg.

The violence came one day ahead of a highly unusual ballot that has little to do with the traditional contests between rival candidates vying for office. Instead, the vote is shaping up as a battle of wills between protesters and the government - and those caught in between. On the one side are demonstrators who say they want to suspend the country's fragile democracy to institute anti-corruption reforms, and on the other, forces supporting Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and civilians who know the election will do little to solve the nation's crisis but insist the right to vote should not be taken away.