Thailand votes in first polls since coup

Thais went to the polls Sunday in an election meant to restore democracy more than a year after the military ousted Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose shadow looms large over the balloting.

About 45.7 million Thais are eligible to vote in the first post-coup election, in which opinion polls predict neither of the kingdom’s two leading parties will win a clear majority of the 480 seats in parliament.

Voting stations opened at 8 am and were due to close at 3 pm The Election Commission said voter turnout would likely reach 70 percent, with unofficial results expected by midnight Sunday.

Electoral authorities have already received more than 900 complaints about alleged election frauds, mainly vote buying, which has a long history in Thailand.

The election is also being held with more than one third of the country, including Thaksin’s rural strongholds, still under martial law.

But army-backed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont insisted the polls would be fair.

“The election is being held transparently and is fair to everyone,” Surayud said after casting his ballot in Bangkok. Voters began lining up shortly before polling stations opened in the Thai capital, many of them wearing yellow or pink shirts in honour of the nation’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

“I’m glad we’re having this election today, so we can hold our heads high to show the rest of the world that we are a democratic country,” said Somjit Hongthong, a 53-year-old housewife.

Sunday, AFP