Thaksin Allies In Thai Election Landslide: Exit Polls

[Thaddeus]

storm's a commin'

[TAWP]

Taksin almost destroyed the farang nightlife scene- guess you didn't go much.

Finally we know why so many farang are anti-Thaksin. Because they're worried they will lose access to cheap prostitutes.

Doubtful - most that seemed to have ended up marrying them are Red-fans...

[dinger]

They may not realize it now, but they will eventually.

It is a sad day for Thailand.

A very sad day. This is not a democracy, it is all about money.

Last night my g/f's mother confirmed that all 7 members of her family and virtually everyone in the village (Korat) received 300thb each.

It is a bloody disgrace.

Not going to side either way on this. But my wife told me she got 300b from the democrats last week and 100b from the red shirts 2 days ago, and then voted the way she already had decided. So multiply that by all of the people in all of the villages and it adds up to a lot of waisted money

[dobadoy]

I've been saying it for years -- long before he [Thaksin] was ousted -- it was not only abundantly clear in his actions but even his words: the man was no believer in democracy.

Aye, that's where the fear comes from with this result. Nuff of all you Thaksin supporters/redshirts saying those of us who are worried about this result are "denying democracy". You're missing the whole point. The thai people have spoken, fair enough. It's what happens next that is the concern. Will they ever get to speak again?

[Austeyr]

Congratulations and well done to Thailand. It is very good news that one party will have a large majority irrespective which party. Domocracy can and does work and if the majority of Thai's wants this government who are we farangs to criticise?

A lot of farangs are now depressed because they just noticed they've been rooting for the wrong team for years.

Well my bunch of expat friends here in Pattaya are delighted at the situation.

I know on one who wanted to keep the Democrats in power!

Of course we dont like Thaksin either, but at least the country has a chance to move forward now instead of back to feudal times!!!

None of us wanted to see a continuation of such a repressive government

I dont think it will be easy now to oppose the obvious will of the Thai people.

A repressive govt? You didn't live here during the late 90's until Taksin's reign ended did you?

[Gonsalviz]

With PTP 313, Dem's 152, all other parties seem to have been more than decimated. BJT, CPPP, CTP had 89 seats, but go down to less than 35? Ah well, maybe the quality of polls hasn't improved yet

What's interesting about those numbers is, that BJT seems to have gotten decimated, because its charasmatic leader is under suspension and played no part in these elections. What's interesting about PTP is their leader is also under suspension but we see his influence in every media, both domestic and international. Now we're going to see what the Thai judiciary is made of.

I have been hoping that they are above the rest. And I continue to hope.

[Who, me ?]

Taksin almost destroyed the farang nightlife scene- guess you didn't go much.

Finally we know why so many farang are anti-Thaksin. Because they're worried they will lose access to cheap prostitutes.

You are sinking lower and lower!!!

[Jingthing]

I've been saying it for years -- long before he [Thaksin] was ousted -- it was not only abundantly clear in his actions but even his words: the man was no believer in democracy.

Aye, that's where the fear comes from with this result. Nuff of all you Thaksin supporters/redshirts saying those of us who are worried about this result are "denying democracy". You're missing the whole point. The thai people have spoken, fair enough. It's what happens next that is the concern. Will they ever get to speak again?

Yep, that's the biggie.

[Estrada]

Congratulations and well done to Thailand. It is very good news that one party will have a large majority irrespective which party. Domocracy can and does work and if the majority of Thai's wants this government who are we farangs to criticise?

AMEN!

Just guessing from the last ten years of living here that you haven't got a clue as to how to spell 'Democracy' nor do you have a firm grip on English plurals 'Thai's. This all leads me to belief that you haven't a clue about Thailand or even an fundamental understanding of how a Constitutional Democracy works. No doubt you're an English teacher.

A word of advice, as you are also not good at English i.e. "leads me to belief" instead of "leads me to believe". and "even an fundamental" instead of "even a fundamental"....Stop slagging off members and English Teachers!

[rubl]

Well my bunch of expat friends here in Pattaya are delighted at the situation.

I know on one who wanted to keep the Democrats in power!

Of course we dont like Thaksin either, but at least the country has a chance to move forward now instead of back to feudal times!!!

None of us wanted to see a continuation of such a repressive government

I dont think it will be easy now to oppose the obvious will of the Thai people.

It's a bit premature to talk about 'obvious will of the Thai people'. Counting still going on with THaiPBS on 17:09 saying PT 256, Dem's 156. If this remains it might be the will of 50-60% of Thai voters. That would be 60% from 28M = 15.4M, out of a total population of 69M. Assuming 60% of voters may be translated into 60% of population, that's still not 'the will of the Thai people', and certainly not obvious

[BlueSkyCowboy]

Jem, time to go home / US...

Home? Are you talking about Obamaland???

[whybother]

Taksin almost destroyed the farang nightlife scene- guess you didn't go much.

Finally we know why so many farang are anti-Thaksin. Because they're worried they will lose access to cheap prostitutes.

There was a whole thread discussing that a couple of months ago.

[fj709]

Shows how out of touch the Thai Visa news section regulars are with the opinions of the majority of Thai people IMO.

Great day for Thailand - putting the military and elite firmly in their places once and for all.

The thing to watch Oberkommando is how long before Pheu Thai/Thaksin sells out to the military and elite families. He has been having discussions with them prior to the election behind the backs of the red shirts

.

[letitbe]

I think everyone here should try to remember that these are only exit polls that are being reported. At the very least, wait until this evening when the preliminary results are announced.

anything is possible but if exit polls are wrong Reds will claim the poll was fixed and exit polls showed they won really so reds on street again if exit polls are right Thailand IMO will go down the pan. Its even possible if exit polls are wrong Taksin paid for them to say a landslide and then he and reds can claim foul cheat from rooftops. Either way im getting what I can out of Thailand and anyone else who can would be well advised to do so. Ill have ot leave around 20-30 million baht but can get the other around 100 million out although I suspect value of our land and property which we will sell will fetch far less very soon. MIe penrie im ok jack as they say. Pity poor sods who arent one of Taksins elite or are just dub buffalos

[SteeleJoe]

But that is EXACTLY what the military did after the coupe. Rewrote the law to give themselves complete and total amnesty for their illegal actions.

As every group that has successfully staged a coup in Thailand has (understandably) done: including the one that took Thailand from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary one in 1932.

Right or wrong, it's SOP (and couldn't be any other way).

[WithMarco]

better Thaksin than Obama.

[Oberkommando]

New airport- huge amount of corruption, poor construction, bad design, many many problems..

Skytrain- huge amount of corruption when Taksin cronies tried to take it over. Extension not permitted.

Thousands of extra judicial killings.

Suppression of the media.

Corruption of the judiciary.

The South.

How bad did it have to be to be sinister?

Taksin almost destroyed the farang nightlife scene- guess you didn't go much.

The violence in the South has escalated markedly since the Democrats came to power.

The generals were in large part responsible for the airport debacle, they owned the land and divided the profits amongst themselves. Not to forget Vichai of King Power, a Democrat Party supporter and that case has disappeared under the carpet thanks to this administration.

It was Purachai and his moral crusade that affected the 'nightlife scene', not directly attributable to Thaksin.

As to suppression of the media, it is worse than ever under this administration.

[jimky]

Taksin almost destroyed the farang nightlife scene- guess you didn't go much.

This is a good (not bad) thing imo

[KKvampire]

The ones to feel sorry on here are the Falangs who "burnt their bridges" with no investments or property back home, Something I was never stupid or naive to do.

What are you talking about. I have a house that was worth close to a $ Million a few years ago, the problem is that I can't sell it due to our superior government and federal reserve. And we proudly voted for our superior government. hahaha And we have a second Amendment Blow me down I am talking about California. Arnold sure got even with the Kennedy's

Thats the problem your house was "worth a Million$" to who?, Property bubble. anyway my points about stability in a foreign country and how civil instability or even changing laws can make you think twice about IF you decided to "put all your eggs" in the one Thal Basket

Edited July 3, 2011 by KKvampire

[BlueSkyCowboy]

Taksin almost destroyed the farang nightlife scene- guess you didn't go much.

Finally we know why so many farang are anti-Thaksin. Because they're worried they will lose access to cheap prostitutes.

You are sinking lower and lower!!!

Prostitution is Illegal in Thailand . All monies earned from entertainment are strictly for family support and morally acceptable

[Austeyr]

Taksin almost destroyed the farang nightlife scene- guess you didn't go much.

This is a good (not bad) thing imo

Great if you don't like tourism dollars

[Throatwobbler]

Thaksin is the least corrupt of these leaders and policians, including the generals.

He doesn't need the money.

He's interested in prestige.

Of course, he must by sheer necessity engage in a certain amount of political corruption when you consider who the other players are, and that it's Thailand.

As for paying poor people for votes...how much did Abhissit pay them?

Nothing...zero...nadda....

.And what did he ever do for them....

Nothing...zero...nadda.

Thaksin tried, and with some success, delivered for them...health-care...land reform...education reform.... and he deserves every vote.

I hope his sister's government can restart those initiatives.

Thank you the laugh. Your opening line is the funniest thing I've ever seen posted on here. Once again thanks I needed cheering up.

[animatic]

Thaksin is the least corrupt of these leaders and policians, including the generals.

He doesn't need the money.

He's interested in prestige.

Of course, he must by sheer necessity engage in a certain amount of political corruption when you consider who the other players are, and that it's Thailand.

As for paying poor people for votes...how much did Abhissit pay them?

Nothing...zero...nadda....

.And what did he ever do for them....

Nothing...zero...nadda.

Thaksin tried, and with some success, delivered for them...health-care...land reform...education reform.... and he deserves every vote.

I hope his sister's government can restart those initiatives.

Hilarious.

He is hopelessly driven to reacquire his lost prestige, and there is never enough money.

Edited July 3, 2011 by animatic

[themockrat]

What's interesting about those numbers is, that BJT seems to have gotten decimated, because its charasmatic leader is under suspension and played no part in these elections. What's interesting about PTP is their leader is also under suspension but we see his influence in every media, both domestic and international. Now we're going to see what the Thai judiciary is made of.

The only reason why BJT had any support in the last election is because he was an ally of Thaksin. After the election, he switched sides to the Democrats and basically stabbed all his supporters in the back, who thought they were voting for an ally of Thaksin. BJT shouldn't be surprised that their supporters refuse to be backstabbed again.

[letitbe]

They may not realize it now, but they will eventually.

It is a sad day for Thailand.

A very sad day. This is not a democracy, it is all about money.

Last night my g/f's mother confirmed that all 7 members of her family and virtually everyone in the village (Korat) received 300thb each.

It is a bloody disgrace.

Not going to side either way on this. But my wife told me she got 300b from the democrats last week and 100b from the red shirts 2 days ago, and then voted the way she already had decided. So multiply that by all of the people in all of the villages and it adds up to a lot of waisted money

dont believe you. first ive never heard of only 100 baht. Second ones who take money feel obliged to vote for whose paid for it at least my wifes family are. Third agents control it all and take their cut and they do not tread on each others territory to much risk

[whybother]

hey it's not over 'til the fat lady sings, as long as Thaksin wants to come home without getting even a token punishment, there will be trouble, this isn't the final chapter I'm afraid. Sooner or later he will want to come home, and even if they won all 500 seats democracy doesn't give them the right to re-interpret the law, so expect a lot of resistance from all quarters. Most likely Thaksin will use this formidable position of strength to negotiate a compromise and slowly but surely weedle his back into complete control. Back to square one, unless of course he learnt a few lessons from the coup.

One thing however, after everything we've seen from the Peua Thai/UDD and their systematic campaign to discredit this outgoing administration, the dirty tactics, the siege of Ratchaprasong, the Pattaya embarrassment, the defacing of Dem posters, propaganda radio, the total and utter refusal to admit any wrong-doing about anything, ever, it's a wonder that they've won by a landslide, truly a wonder, I really would love to know exactly how they did it (wink, nudge)

But that is EXACTLY what the military did after the coupe. Rewrote the law to give themselves complete and total amnesty for their illegal actions. And before anyone comments that the military drafted constitution was voted on and approved by 60+% of the population, you need to remember that they had 2 options. #1 Vote for the new military constitution -or- #2 Remain under indefinite martial law.

So are you saying that PTP shouldn't do it then?

[Throatwobbler]

How will you be affected by this outcome? In reality, politics has had zero influence over my life in Thailand since I arrived in 2004... hence I simply refuse to put any emotional energy into the whole business.

If they put their policies in place then there will be very high inflation. The rising cost of living effects us all.

[Gonsalviz]

Very strange to see how Farangs, outside their home country are narrow-minded and against democracy.

The results are what they are. No need to cry, lament or cheer. Just accept.

Yes. I've seen some quite shocking comments, including even to express the hope that the military commits another coup.

And these are allegedly educated foreigners. Good to keep this in mind in future discussions here, the number of loose wing-nuts out there!

And.. they have keyboards!

It's ok though. The incoming party will hand out 'Tablet PC's to all students. First they need to be educated on how to use them. That is not going to happen. The PC's or the education. It wasn't going to happen with the losers either.

[whybother]

What amazes me was that the leaders the western democracies, where we are from, never said a word of protest or criticism about the military coup...or the military junta they were left to deal with. Our countries have intervened in such cases across the world... certainly through public comment... but even militarily at times.

But never a word from their embassies in Bangkok.... in the case of Thailand. Strange.

In fact Thaksin was in the USA at the United Nations when the tanks were moved into Bangkok.

Ironically from an AP news report...: "Striking when Thaksin was in New York at the UN General Assembly, army commander General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin sent tanks and troops into the drizzly, nighttime streets of Bangkok. The military ringed Thaksin's offices, seized control of television stations, and declared a provisional authority loyal to the king."

You obviously didn't read the western press after the coup.

[musiclover]

Wouldn't be surprising if the deep south flares up big time again, given the way Thaksin treated him during his first regime.

It's worse now than it ever was under Thaksin. As is crime, as is drug usage, as is media censorship, as are human rights abuses etc, etc, etc.

Absolutely correct!

Im amazed so many posters here cant see or dont know this.

Clearly the Thais know and voted !