A few votes short

A few votes short

The People Power Party (PPP), whose main platform has been its support for ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has emerged the winner of weekend polls, election officials said Monday after finishing the final vote tally in the first election held since last year's coup.

NOTE : For final party vote tally in Sunday election, click here

The PPP came nine seats shy of a majority in parliament, winning 232 of the 480 seats contested in Sunday's election, said Election Commission Secretary General Suthipol Thaveechaikarn.

About 32.08 million Thais, or 70.27 per cent of eligible voters, cast ballots, he said.

Although it was the final count, it was not the final outcome because the Election Commission must still investigate various charges of election fraud and might be forced to hold a by-election for red-carded candidates.

The United States immediately welcomed the vote.

"The Thai people turned out at the polls to show their support for a return to an elected government accountable to the citizens," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington.

"We call on all sides to respect the results," he added.

PPP leader Samak Sundaravej, a 72-year-old veteran of Thailand's political scene, said Sunday night that he would be the country's next prime minister and would approach other parties to form a coalition government before parliament reconvenes in 30 days, as required by the constitution.

Samak said at a press conference that the support for the PPP was a statement on the military's September 19, 2006, coup, which toppled Thaksin and installed an appointed cabinet of technocrats.

"The coup is dead," Samak said. "Now the people have had their say. The numbers that came out are an answer to those people," he said, referring to the military.

It remained to be seen whether a coalition government under the PPP could be born, analysts said.

The PPP's main rival, the Democrat Party, has already announced that it would not join the PPP in a coalition but would become the opposition if it fails to lead a government.

The Democrat Party won 165 seats and dominated the results in Bangkok, where it won 27 of the 36 contested seats. The PPP received the other nine Bangkok mandates.

Coming third was the Chart Thai Party with 37 seats, followed by the Peau Pandin Party with 25 seats. The other slates to win seats were Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana with nine, Machima Thipataya with seven and Pracharaj with five, according to the latest unofficial tally.

Although the PPP won the most seats, it would have a hard time mustering a coalition government, observers said.

"We have a clean winner but not a clear-cut outcome," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

The Democrats did better than expected and won Bangkok's backing, deemed a crucial factor to any government's stability.

"The provinces elect governments, and Bangkok topples them," is an old Thai saying.

The Democrats also received strong support for their party-list candidates, winning 33 of the 80 contested party-list seats, compared with the PPP's 34.

"That means that many people split their vote, casting ballots for their preferred MPs [members of parliament] but voting for the Democrats as their favourite party," Thitinan said.

Samak would need to persuade the Chart Thai Party, run by Banharn Silpa-archa, to join him if the PPP is to muster a government, but Banharn has reportedly asked to become prime minister of such a coalition.

Thailand appeared to be heading for a weak coalition government that is not likely to last long, analysts said.

The PPP has campaigned on a platform of continuing the populist policies initiated by Thaksin during his two premierships from 2001 to 2006 and assuring a safe return for the billionaire politician, who has been in self-imposed exile since the coup.

Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon, reportedly moved from his mansion in London to his luxury apartment in Hong Kong to observe the election and hopes to return on February 14 to Thailand.