Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, deposed, exiled and allegedly corrupt, was poised for a comeback-by-proxy as his allies won yesterday's post-coup election, exit polls showed.
The outcome is likely to deepen the country's two-year political crisis.
Polls from Thailand's two leading polling agencies, however, differed on whether the pro-Thaksin People's Power Party (PPP) had won an absolute majority in the 480-seat lower house of parliament.
With indications the PPP might fall short of the majority, its opponents could bring in partners to form a coalition government.
Thaksin was ousted in a bloodless coup in September last year, but retains widespread popularity among the rural majority. PPP campaigned on a platform of bringing Thaksin back from exile in London and continuing his populist policies.
Unofficial results were expected before midnight yesterday in an election billed as a return to democracy after 15 months of military-backed government.
The state-owned broadcaster MCOT reported the PPP had won 227 seats while its rival Democrat Party took 158 after tallying 75 percent of the votes at polling stations nationwide.
A Dusit poll for Bangkok's Suan Dusit Rajabhat University forecast the PPP had won a majority with 256 seats, compared to 162 for the rival Democrat Party.
An Abac poll for Assumption University, which was more in line with several pre-election predictions by analysts, showed PPP had won 202 seats, falling short of an outright majority, with the Democrats taking 146 seats.
The Dusit poll surveyed 341,000 voters nationwide before polling stations closed at 3pm. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. Abac surveyed 500,000 voters and the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
"I saw the polls. We are not surprised. From what we surveyed two weeks ago and the polls that came out before, we will have more than 240," PPP secretary-general Surapong Suebwonglee said.
He said the party would try to control more than 300 seats by attracting coalition partners.
Voters among the 45 million eligible cast ballots for about 5,000 candidates from 39 political parties.
The contest pitted the PPP, seen as a reincarnation of Thaksin's outlawed Thai Rak Thai Party, against the Democrat Party, the country's oldest.
PPP leaders said Thaksin, who was watching the election from Hong Kong, would return to Thailand early next year, sparking fears of continued political turbulence.
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