People in Thailand are voting in the first general election since the military coup that overthrew Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last year.
Polls have closed in Thailand's first general election since the military coup that overthrew Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Mr Thaksin is in exile and has been banned from politics but a new party set up by his followers has been leading in the opinion polls.
Initial exit polls suggest a party allied to Mr Thaksin, the People's Power Party (PPP) won the most seats.
Analysts say all eyes will be on the military should the party win outright.
Mr Thaksin himself is in exile and has been banned from politics.
The army insists the election is restoring democracy.
Analysts say all eyes will be on the military, as there are fears of another military intervention should the PPP win enough votes to form a government.
A total of 480 parliamentary seats are being contested, under the new constitution introduced in August.
Polling stations opened at 0800 local time (0100 GMT) on Sunday, with unofficial results expected by midnight (1700 GMT) on Sunday. A turnout of about 70% is predicted.
The Election Commission has already received hundreds of complaints about alleged election fraud, mostly related to vote-buying.
Appeal to loyalists
The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says there are fears of another military intervention if the new party allied to Mr Thaksin, the People Power Party (PPP), wins enough seats to form a government.
Thai voters give their views on who should run their countryIn pictures Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, who deposed Mr Thaksin in September 2006 to become deputy prime minister in an interim government that he appointed, urged Thais to vote for "good people loyal" to the monarchy.
None of the PPP's rival parties, many of whom were only formed after the coup, have managed to rival Mr Thaksin's populist appeal in the countryside and among the urban poor, says our correspondent.
The PPP's right-wing leader Samak Sundaravej, 72, says Mr Thaksin, who still faces a number of corruption charges, will return to Thailand from self-imposed exile in the UK after the election.
Considered a reincarnation of Mr Thaksin's outlawed Thai Rak Thai Party, the PPP is ahead in opinion polls, but analysts say it is likely to fall short of an absolute majority.
If that happens a period of bargaining with other parties over a coalition is expected.
History of coups
The PPP's main rival is the Democrat Party, headed by 43-year-old Abhisit Vejajjiva, which has strong support among the urban middle class.
The English-born Mr Abhisit has said Mr Thaksin should return to face corruption charges.
Mr Thaksin, a one-time telecoms billionaire, is currently living in London and earlier this year he became the owner of Manchester City football club.
Many voters queuing to cast ballots in Bangkok were wearing yellow or pink shirts in honour of the nation's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Housewife Somjit Hongthong, 53, told AFP news agency: "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."
The polling booths are being guarded by thousands of troops, especially in the Muslim-majority south of the country, where a separatist insurgency has claimed thousands of lives.
Last year's coup was the 18th in 75 years of on-and-off democracy.
"Maybe the single greatest wish is that the military will really return to the barracks and not seek to retain some measure of control over Government House," the Bangkok Post said in an editorial.
