Thais vote in bitter election

BANGKOK: Thailand voted on Sunday in elections seen as a referendum on Thaksin Shinawatra’s leadership after months of street protests, but an opposition boycott has undermined the credibility of the polls.

The Prime Minister called the election three years early in an attempt to silence daily protests in the capital Bangkok demanding he step down for abuse of power and corruption.

Thaksin has promised to resign if he fails to get 50 per cent of the vote, although the solid support the former telecoms billionaire enjoys in rural Thailand is expected to ensure this does not happen.

But the opposition boycott and the disqualification of some 400 candidates for violations in the nomination process means that even if Thaksin wins he may not have enough support to form a parliament.

In the absence of opposition candidates, the biggest challenge for Thaksin is the “no vote” option that could be exercised in Bangkok and the troubled mainly Muslim south, where anger towards the premier is most fierce.

Thaksin’s critics have called for voters to tick the abstention box in a show of no confidence, saying this could deny Thaksin his majority win.

“This election is very crucial for the direction of the country, because we still have differences of opinion,” Thaksin said. “I urge everyone to come out to vote to preserve democracy,” said Thaksin, who has painted the election as a battle between mob rule and the rule of law.

Bombs wound four in Thai south

Two bombs detonated by mobile phones exploded in Thailand’s rebellious Muslim far south on Sunday after voting ended in the country’s general election wounding four security personnel, police said. The first bomb exploded at the entrance of a school used as a polling station in the district of Joh Airong, wounding two soldiers carrying ballot boxes to a car. About two km away, a second bomb exploded at another polling station and wounded two policemen.

— Reuters