By DPA
Bangkok : Millions of Thais voted Sunday in a general election restoring democracy to the country after last year’s coup that ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra whose shadow looms large over the polls.
Voting at 85,000 polling stations nationwide opened at 8 a.m. and closed at 3 p.m. Unofficial results were expected to be announced before midnight.
Some 43 political parties registered to contest the election, but the two main rivals are the People Power Party (PPP), whose main platform has been to bring Thaksin back to Thailand and give him a fair trial on numerous corruption charges, and the Democrat Party, the main opposition party during Thaksin’s controversial premiership between 2001 and 2006 before he was toppled by a coup Sep 19, 2006.
The PPP is headed by Samak Sundaravej, 72, a veteran Thai politician with a right-wing past who has dubbed himself a “nominee” for Thaksin, campaigning on the promise to continue the populist policies initiated by Thaksin’s now defunct Thai Rak Thai Party and to guarantee a safe return for the former prime minister.
Thaksin, a billionaire and a former telecommunication tycoon, has moved from his mansion in London to his luxury apartment in Hong Kong to observe the election. Thaksin, a brilliant manipulator of the mass media, reportedly wishes to return to Thailand on Feb 14, Valentine’s Day.
The Democrat Party is led by Abhisit Vejjajiva, 43, an Oxford-educated liberal politician who has campaigned on his clean record and the boast that he is the best candidate to lead Thailand out of its current political and economic slump.
“It’s a choice between the same corrupt old leadership that goes with economic stagnation, high prices, divisiveness and a new leadership that can really change our economy and improve living conditions for average Thais while at the same time unite our country through the democratic process,” Vejjajiva told a recent gathering.
More than 45.8 million Thais were eligible to vote in Sunday’s election. About three million had already cast their votes in absentee and advance polling held last weekend.
Many Thai voters expressed relief Sunday that some semblance of democracy had been restored to Thailand.
“I think the political situation will improve after the polls, because it’s already hit rock bottom,” said Natvasu Thiyingdee, owner of the Andaman Kingdom company. “I can accept whichever party wins,” he added after casting his vote.
The PPP hopes to win more than 240 of the 480 contested seats to give them a simple majority in the next parliament to form the core party in a coalition government.
Political analysts say if the PPP wins by a landslide, and Samak becomes prime minister and starts to prosecute the military for ousting Thaksin, another coup is possible in the post-election period.
There have been 18 coups in Thailand since the absolute monarchy was overthrown in 1932 and replaced by a democratic system under a constitutional monarchy.