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Thai election forces coalition
23/12/2007 22:21 - (SA)
Bangkok - Allies of deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra claimed victory in Sunday's elections, setting the stage for the billionaire's political comeback more than a year after his ouster in a coup.
The pro-Thaksin People Power Party (PPP) fell short of an absolute majority in parliament, according to the election authority, forcing its leader Samak Sundaravej to seek partners for a coalition government.
But the party's strong showing dealt a major blow to the royalist generals who toppled Thaksin's government in September 2006, and raised the prospect that Thaksin could soon return from his self-imposed exile if PPP succeeds in its coalition building.
"I will be the next prime minister for sure," Samak confidently told reporters, saying that Thaksin had called from Hong Kong to congratulate him on the result.
Official results only on Monday.
The PPP looked set to win 228 of the 480 seats up for grabs, according to unofficial results from the Election Commission.
Final, official results will not be released until later Monday at the earliest.
PPP's closest rival, the Democrat Party, was set to win 166 seats, with five smaller parties dividing up the rest.
The military has made little secret that it would prefer to see a Democrat-led coalition, and the party's leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has refused to bow out.
"The PPP has failed to win an overall majority it wanted," he told a press conference.
"If PPP succeeds in forming a coalition, the Democrat Party is ready to become the opposition. If the PPP fails, then the Democrat Party is ready to form its own coalition," he said.
PPP came out ahead in the polls even though one third of the country, including Thaksin's rural strongholds, is still under martial law.
The military has already taken steps to ensure its continued influence over the new government.
The generals tossed out Thailand's 1997 constitution, widely hailed as the most democratic the kingdom had ever known, and passed an army-backed charter in a referendum in August.
18 coups in 75 years
Critics warn the new charter will encourage weak coalition governments while returning real authority to the military, the bureaucracy and the royal palace.
All three institutions have played key roles in most of Thailand's turbulent political history, which has seen 24 prime ministers and 18 coups in the past 75 years.
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