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Party of Ousted Prime Minister Wins Thai Races

Posted Dec 23, 07 6:15 AM CST in World 

(Newser) – Deposed former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is poised to return from exile now that the party supporting him won the most seats in parliament in today's elections, according to exit polls. It was unclear, however, whether the pro-Thaksin People Power party gained an absolute majority. If not, opposition parties still have a chance to cobble together a coalition government.

A December 2006 coup unseated Thaksin, a populist figure and billionaire who faces corruption charges but remains beloved by poor and rural Thais for the cheap loans and medical care his regime provided. Thai voters hope today's election will resolve the political instability that has crippled the country since the coup, but many hold low expectations for a coalition government.

Sources Reuters, Reuters

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An elephants dressed in a Santa Claus costume puts a vote in a ballot box during a promotion for the general election at a school in Ayutthaya province northern Bangkok, 21 December 2007. The country's...   (Getty Images)
Bangkok, Thailand, election workers display marked ballots as they are counted Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007, following the kingdom's first general election since last year's coup. Former Prime Minister Thaksin...   (Associated Press)
An elderly Thai voter smiles as she prepares to mark her ballot Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007, in downtown Bangkok, Thailand. Thais are voting Sunday in the first general elections since last year's coup. (AP...   (Associated Press)
Thailand's then caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra greets well-wishers after disembarking from the first commercial test flight at Bangkok's new international airport, on the outskirts of Bangkok,...   (Associated Press)
Thai election official Samreon Temboonsak displays an empty ballot box to the media Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007, just prior to the polls opening in Bangkok, Thailand. Thais are voting Sunday in the first general...   (Associated Press)
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