Thailand plans to hold a national referendum to end a political crisis over a street campaign against the government, embattled Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Thursday after rejecting calls to quit.

The anti-government group that has led the three-month-long protest against Samak in Bangkok immediately rejected the plan, signaling that political uncertainty would continue to beset the Southeast Asian kingdom.

Samak, desperately searching for a way to end the crisis that has paralyzed his government, said in a radio broadcast that he would urge the Senate to pass a pending referendum law quickly.

“The campaign will last for a month in which both sides can do whatever electioneering they want,” he said, adding that the thousands of activists who have barricaded themselves within his official compound could stay there during this period.

The anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a mainly middle class grouping of royalists and businessmen whose activists took over the prime minister’s compound in Bangkok 10 days ago, called the plan a delaying tactic.

“The referendum will not solve anything. It is the government’s delaying tactic to prolong its survival,” said PAD spokesman Parnthep Pourpongpan.

Earlier in the day, Samak defiantly dismissed talk that he would quit or call a snap election to defuse the protests.

“I will not jump ship, I will be in control,” he said.

The PAD said it would not halt its campaign until Samak was ousted.

“As long as he insists on staying on, we will not go anywhere. It doesn’t matter how many days or years, or even into the next life,” PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul told supporters.

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