Pro-Thaksin party leads Thai vote

Initial exit polls suggest that the party allied to Thailand's ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra leads in Sunday's elections. One poll gave the People Power Party (PPP) 202 out of 480 seats, while another poll gave it 256. Pro-Thaksin party leads Thai vote However the exit polls should be treated with caution. This is Thailand's first election since the military coup that overthrew Thaksin in September 2006. Unofficial results are expected to be announced at around midnight (1700 GMT). Election monitors say that voting has mostly proceeded smoothly and been well-organized, despite complaints of vote-buying and other irregularities. The exit polls are divided on whether the PPP has won an outright majority. If it has not, there will be considerable pressure on middle-ranking parties to form a coalition with the PPP's main rival, the Democrats. But, this could lead to further instability as a multi-party government could well prove weak and short-lived. Coalition building Thaksin himself has been in exile since the coup, and he and his Thai Rak Thai party were banned from politics by the military government. But his allies have resurfaced under the PPP banner, and analysts say they have benefited from Thaksin's populist appeal, especially in the countryside. One voter, Roongchai, told the BBC that he liked Thaksin because he was "brave enough to change things". "He might have made mistakes, but overall he brought positive change." Return from exile? Surapong Suebwonglee, secretary general of PPP, said the poll was "a victory for people and democracy". "It shows that the coup one-and-a-half years ago has not benefited the country or anyone," he told the AFP news agency. The PPP's right-wing leader Samak Sundaravej, 72, says he expects Thaksin to return to Thailand from self-imposed exile in the UK if PPP wins an outright majority. If he does return to the Thailand, Thaksin will have to answer a number of corruption charges levelled against him in the courts.

Pro-Thaksin party leads Thai vote

However the exit polls should be treated with caution.

This is Thailand's first election since the military coup that overthrew Thaksin in September 2006.

Unofficial results are expected to be announced at around midnight (1700 GMT).

Election monitors say that voting has mostly proceeded smoothly and been well-organized, despite complaints of vote-buying and other irregularities.

The exit polls are divided on whether the PPP has won an outright majority.

If it has not, there will be considerable pressure on middle-ranking parties to form a coalition with the PPP's main rival, the Democrats.

But, this could lead to further instability as a multi-party government could well prove weak and short-lived.

Coalition building

Thaksin himself has been in exile since the coup, and he and his Thai Rak Thai party were banned from politics by the military government.

But his allies have resurfaced under the PPP banner, and analysts say they have benefited from Thaksin's populist appeal, especially in the countryside.

One voter, Roongchai, told the BBC that he liked Thaksin because he was "brave enough to change things".

"He might have made mistakes, but overall he brought positive change."

Return from exile?

Surapong Suebwonglee, secretary general of PPP, said the poll was "a victory for people and democracy".

"It shows that the coup one-and-a-half years ago has not benefited the country or anyone," he told the AFP news agency.

The PPP's right-wing leader Samak Sundaravej, 72, says he expects Thaksin to return to Thailand from self-imposed exile in the UK if PPP wins an outright majority.

If he does return to the Thailand, Thaksin will have to answer a number of corruption charges levelled against him in the courts.