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Thai parties in coalition talks | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Rival political parties in Thailand have begun what could be protracted negotiations to form a coalition government after the general election. | |
The People Power Party (PPP), allied to ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, has won most seats but lacks an absolute majority. | |
The next three biggest parties have ruled out joining the PPP in a coalition for the time being. | |
Analysts say the result highlights a rejection by rural voters of the 2006 military coup which ousted Mr Thaksin. | |
Full official results from Sunday's poll are due later on Monday but indications are the PPP has won 228 seats in the 480-seat house. | |
Vote-rigging probe | |
Short of the 241 needed for an outright win, PPP leader Samak Sundaravej is now attempting to woo potential coalition partners. | |
There is still plenty of room for mischief. Other groups, including the military, must abide by the election decision Bangkok Post editorial Key election figuresThailand's turbulent year | |
"I will be the next prime minister for sure. I invite all the parties to join our government," he said. | |
He added that Mr Thaksin had congratulated him in a telephone call from Hong Kong. | |
But an official investigation is afoot into allegations of vote-rigging, which could lead to the PPP losing seats. | |
Its main rival, the Democrat Party, is set to win 166 seats. | |
The Democrats' leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, said his party was ready to serve as the opposition but was ready to form its own coalition if the PPP failed to do so. | |
The next two biggest parties - Chart Thai (Thai Nation) and Peau Pandin (Motherland) - appear set to win 65 seats between them and could prove crucial. | |
They said they would act together and take their time reaching a decision on other possible alliances. | |
POST-COUP TIMELINE September 2006: Coup overthrows Thaksin ShinawatraOctober 2006: Retired General Surayud Chulanont is appointed interim leaderMay 2007: Court bans Mr Thaksin from politics for five years, and dissolves his partyAugust 2007: Voters approve a new constitution December 2007: Election held In pictures: Thailand votesSend us your comments | POST-COUP TIMELINE September 2006: Coup overthrows Thaksin ShinawatraOctober 2006: Retired General Surayud Chulanont is appointed interim leaderMay 2007: Court bans Mr Thaksin from politics for five years, and dissolves his partyAugust 2007: Voters approve a new constitution December 2007: Election held In pictures: Thailand votesSend us your comments |
Hostility to the PPP, and its promise to bring Mr Thaksin back from exile, runs high in the military and bureaucratic elite that aligns itself closely with the monarchy, and among much of Bangkok's middle class. | |
The BBC's Jonathan Head in the Thai capital says the PPP could be kept from office if the Democrats succeed in cobbling together a coalition. | |
But whatever multi-party government emerges could well prove weak and short-lived, he adds. | |
In Thailand's system, parliament must meet within 30 days of the election and then has a month to elect a prime minister. | |
The Bangkok Post said in an editorial: "There is still plenty of room for mischief. Other groups, including the military, must abide by the election decision." | |
The PPP - seen as a reincarnation of Mr Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party - focused on the poor, rural vote, while the Democrats relied on the middle-class urban vote. | |
Since the coup of September 2006, Mr Thaksin, now banned from Thai politics, has lived in self-imposed exile abroad, mainly in Britain. | |
If he does return to Thailand, as his allies want, Mr Thaksin will have to answer a number of corruption charges levelled against him in the courts. | |