Thaksin Shinawatra's sister triumphs in election
Yingluck Shinawatra will have an overwhelming majority in Parliament: 264 seats against 160. Abhisit, outgoing Prime Minister, leaves the party. The military, leaders of the coup of 2006, accept the result of the polls.
Bankgok (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The sister of former Thai Prime Minister in exile, Yingluck Shinawatra, yesterday won a landslide victory in the general election, leading the opposition to the government. Yingluck, a business woman of 44, will be the first woman to hold the role of prime minister in the country. The almost final results show that of the 500 seats in parliament 264 went to the Pheu Thai opposition party, while Abhisit Vejjajiva’s Democrats got 160.
Abhisit has announced he will leave the leadership of the party after this defeat. "In the spirit of a good leader of an organization, I have to take responsibility, and resign." The outgoing Prime Minister, giving his best wishes to Yingluck, "the first woman to form a government," declared he was ready to go to the opposition. "I want to see unity and reconciliation."
In the recent past, Thailand has been rocked by opposition protests, to the brink of a civil war after the military forced into exile in 2006, then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. (12/21/2010 Bangkok, government decrees end of emergency rule). According to analysts, Yinglick won election with a populist program, close to her brother’s style: raising the minimum wage, improving links with the north of the country, making health care more efficient and less expensive.
The Thai military have accepted the verdict of the polls, and will not oppose the formation of a government formed by the former opposition party. The outgoing defence minister and former army chief of staff, Prawit Wongsuwan gave assurances, ''I can assure you that the military has no desire to spill over the role that was assigned to them,'' said the minister. ''The army accepts the election results with clarity and I can announce that we have never toyed with the idea of doing anything to damage the country,'' added the officer. The military are responsible for the bloodless coup in 2006 that deposed the prime minister and tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra.
Abhisit has announced he will leave the leadership of the party after this defeat. "In the spirit of a good leader of an organization, I have to take responsibility, and resign." The outgoing Prime Minister, giving his best wishes to Yingluck, "the first woman to form a government," declared he was ready to go to the opposition. "I want to see unity and reconciliation."
In the recent past, Thailand has been rocked by opposition protests, to the brink of a civil war after the military forced into exile in 2006, then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. (12/21/2010 Bangkok, government decrees end of emergency rule). According to analysts, Yinglick won election with a populist program, close to her brother’s style: raising the minimum wage, improving links with the north of the country, making health care more efficient and less expensive.
The Thai military have accepted the verdict of the polls, and will not oppose the formation of a government formed by the former opposition party. The outgoing defence minister and former army chief of staff, Prawit Wongsuwan gave assurances, ''I can assure you that the military has no desire to spill over the role that was assigned to them,'' said the minister. ''The army accepts the election results with clarity and I can announce that we have never toyed with the idea of doing anything to damage the country,'' added the officer. The military are responsible for the bloodless coup in 2006 that deposed the prime minister and tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra.
.png)
See also
