If the Red-shirts had not blockaded Bangkok last year...and given up 91 dead... this election never would have happened.

There is absolutely nothing to support that assertion. Infact, had they stood by their word and been interested in reaching peace there would have been an election last November.

There is now little doubt that Thaksin’s political forces are now in a stronger position than they would have been if the 2006 coup had not been staged and if electoral judgements had been allowed to run their course.

Personally I think this is a good thing for Thailand in a purely superficial way.

The biggest asset is going to be Yingluck herself.

She's going to be a huge media hit across the world.

She's well read, very articulate and lets face it...she is hot.

Here in deepest ,darkest isarn ,P.T. did not pay. The football club did B 500. and got done like a dogs dinner. May i take this opportunity of reminding you , That in 2009 ,the American Ambassador , sent a cable to the U.S. Saying I have just spoken with Yingluck .I think I have just spoken with the next Prime Minister of Thailand, Yes , you read right ,it was 2009.

Given the Democrats have been in for the last 5 years /../

No, they haven't. It is 2 years.

First off, the word election should not continue to be used. When the votes are all bought, it simply becomes an exercise in how much money needs to be spent in order to get the front position at the feeding trough. A sad day for Thailand....... Thaksin has proven to be anti farang in the past, guess we will have to keep a close eye on what he does, and have an exit strategy to another country

Do you think this any better than the money poured into parties and the media in the USA? Come on. It is time to shut up, especially if you are a farang, and let them get on with it. Besides, both sides were dishing out money.

To me there is a clear distinction between money given to political parties in America to run ads to try to influence voters, and and guy standing in a village in Isan with a suitcase of cash handing out 500 baht notes and telling people who to vote for. If you cannot see that distinction , that is your problem not mine....

Again I repeat my previous position, that an election that is bought directly, is not a real election, but rather a dog and pony show put on to show the world that Thailand has a " democratic" form of government. If Thailand passed a law that vote buying would be punished by 10 years in jail, and actually enforced it, then I would believe the next election results.

Foreign news services are calling this a "closely contested divisive" election etc.

Over 2/3 of the vote is not "closely contested".

When candidate/party gets 69% of the vote they are not divisive....nearly 4/5 of the parliament on the contrary they are uniting.

Maybe they mean decisive?

PT is NOT getting 69% of the votes, that is a LIE.

Please refer to numbers here for example: http://203.150.244.91/web/en/page6.php

Everybody i spoke to here in thailand voting for Yingluck

Same here! People on this forum been so out of tough with Thais I am sure 90% live overseas but are experts.

This next thing they will say everyone was paid to vote red

Unfortunately the poor have been paid to vote. Thailand will stay in the corruption zone.

Not true. My wife went back to her province to vote and received no money.

my friend (thai female) even went with her sister to a 12hour ride from pattaya to Ubon to vote - no money only expenses.

offtopic: could it be that the phone lines in thailand are somewhat overloaded now?

First off, the word election should not continue to be used. When the votes are all bought, it simply becomes an exercise in how much money needs to be spent in order to get the front position at the feeding trough. A sad day for Thailand....... Thaksin has proven to be anti farang in the past, guess we will have to keep a close eye on what he does, and have an exit strategy to another country

Do you think this any better than the money poured into parties and the media in the USA? Come on. It is time to shut up, especially if you are a farang, and let them get on with it. Besides, both sides were dishing out money.

Yep. It's not like politicians in the west are less corrupt.They are just more polished and deceptive in masking it. I can't be too critical of Yinglucks experience when we in the US elected a President with no governing experience and minimal experience in elected office. I hope their experiment turns out better than ours. I doubt the people vote based on which party gives them more money. My sister in law up near Udon says that people take money from both major parties at election time and then vote for whom they wanted to vote for. It's a win-win if you are a voter. For those who were there as expats prior to the 2006 coup, what sort of anti-expat policies did Thaksin promote?

So true. After the coup, the TCT came out and started harassing foreign teachers.

And now the TCT has stopped it's business with "ensuring that Expat Teachers were Qualified". They're tucking their tails back between their legs and scampering away into the shadows again. I think it has a lot to do with them knowing the outcome of the election long before it's official.

Coincidence?

Everybody i spoke to here in thailand voting for Yingluck

Same here! People on this forum been so out of tough with Thais I am sure 90% live overseas but are experts.

This next thing they will say everyone was paid to vote red

Unfortunately the poor have been paid to vote. Thailand will stay in the corruption zone.

Not true. My wife went back to her province to vote and received no money.

Ask for a refund. She's been short changed !

If the Red-shirts had not blockaded Bangkok last year...and given up 91 dead... this election never would have happened.

The Reds 'gave up' 91 dead? Oh really? Does that number include the Army colonel who was shot by a black shirt embedded within the Reds? Does that include the woman who was killed on a railway platform by a mortar fired from the Red camp? How about the two men shot while on the their motorbikes, the bullets coming from the Red barricades?

How did the Red messes in Bangkok in springtimes of 2010 and 2011 contribute to this election? The Reds came to Bangkok itching for mayhem and a fight, and they got them. Don't try to rewrite history.

The same sorts are who have just been elected to top gov't positions. Doesn't bode well for Thailand.

Thaksin is already promising to bring the USD back to 40/THB

Not difficult to do, simply destroy the Thai economy and that'll happen easily!

now the thai farmers all will get credit cards - isnt it amazing?

Thaksin is already promising to bring the USD back to 40/THB and 30 million tourists a year in LOS - he has all but actually proclaimed himself the real PM. Ta-da! The joke is no longer just a joke. A whole nation (or at least most of it) has fallen for it.

"In a democracy, people get the government they deserve,"

I guess we will see in the next few days, weeks, months If Thailand truly wants to be run by criminals so be it.

Not just Thais, but all who are stupefied by PR mastery and massive media payola.

Yes, they are stupid. Thaksin is a false prophet.....he aligned himself with GWB from the USA,

anyone remember that? If that doesn't scare someone with half a brain, then you deserve

what you pay for. Not that Abhisit is the answer, but I guarantee there will be NO change

or reward for the poor in Isaan and anywhere else that "love" this guy.

"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." We just got fooled again!! Yea Yea!!

Thaksin is already promising to bring the USD back to 40/THB and 30 million tourists a year in LOS - he has all but actually proclaimed himself the real PM. Ta-da! The joke is no longer just a joke. A whole nation (or at least most of it) has fallen for it.

I don't think the Thais are that stupid.

Maybe that's what they wanted Bob!

Personally I think this is a good thing for Thailand in a purely superficial way.

The biggest asset is going to be Yingluck herself.

She's going to be a huge media hit across the world.

She's well read, very articulate and lets face it...she is hot.

She's not articulate in English and hasn't faced a tough interview. Not to mention her refusal to debate.

Everybody i spoke to here in thailand voting for Yingluck

Same here! People on this forum been so out of tough with Thais I am sure 90% live overseas but are experts.

This next thing they will say everyone was paid to vote red

Unfortunately the poor have been paid to vote. Thailand will stay in the corruption zone.

Not true. My wife went back to her province to vote and received no money.

True in your wife's case anyway. I don't think there's any question people take money to vote. Why not, it's free money. If someone came up to me in the US and said they would give me $50 if I promise them I would vote for Candidate X, then I would take their $50 , say thanks and go vote for Candidate Y. If the anti-Thaksin portion of the electorate want to keep blaming "vote buying" for their failure at the polls, it just seems like a stale, illogical talking point. Can somebody however enlighten me as to whether there is some apparatus in place that can tracks whether paid voters "vote properly"

Why do so many TV posters seem to think they know so much better what Thailand needs and think they know beter than the Thais? Just imagine the outcry from these posters if after a European election the voters in Thailand made such comments!

Durian and snake fruit. Totally irrelevant point. Not many would, and for those that did, the reaction would be amusement. Thailand has ZERO cred among international democracies.

Zero cred? Is that why Thailand has close ties with the USA and the EEC?

Are you serious? They deal with any country that helps their self interest.

While her business credentials are well known, observers say she has given few concrete clues about what kind of leader she would be.

Yet she wins a landslide. Government they deserve ... government they deserve.

Western mass media will celebrate it: she is a woman.

Western mass media will celebrate it: she is a woman ??

The sort of comment one can expect from a sour grapes sexist.

and lets face it...she is hot.

they said there was an election on, and with all these pictures of Yingluck everywhere.

easy to get confused, especially the way the thais get their "L"s and "R"s mixed up.

Everybody i spoke to here in thailand voting for Yingluck

Same here! People on this forum been so out of tough with Thais I am sure 90% live overseas but are experts.

The next thing they will say everyone was paid to vote red

They where paid to vote red in my girlfriends village so yes its not hype

All academic now -- Abhisit has publicly conceded defeat and indirectly suggested his exit from leadership of Democrats.

All academic now -- Abhisit has publicly conceded defeat and indirectly suggested his exit from leadership of Democrats.

Well that's expected. He's through for now. Depending on what happens politically, a small chance of comeback someday, as he is still young.

Why do so many TV posters seem to think they know so much better what Thailand needs and think they know beter than the Thais? Just imagine the outcry from these posters if after a European election the voters in Thailand made such comments!

Durian and snake fruit. Totally irrelevant point. Not many would, and for those that did, the reaction would be amusement. Thailand has ZERO cred among international democracies.

Zero cred? Is that why Thailand has close ties with the USA and the EEC?

Are you serious? They deal with any country that helps their self interest.

But that's what everyone does. Why should Thailand be any different? The USA also tramples on anyone they choose, out of self interest.

But that's what everyone does. Why should Thailand be any different? The USA also tramples on anyone they choose, out of self interest.

You are mixing up issues, so this is becoming tedious. Yes, all countries can, do, and should conduct their international affairs based on self interest. NOTHING to do with whether the US government actually respects the state of Thai democracy, much less Thai education, which is in the toilet, no secret.

Thaksin is already promising to bring the USD back to 40/THB and 30 million tourists a year in LOS - he has all but actually proclaimed himself the real PM. Ta-da! The joke is no longer just a joke. A whole nation (or at least most of it) has fallen for it.

40 baht to the dollar....Yee Haw happy days are here again!

Show me the exchange rate!

May I be the first to congratulate Khun Yingluck, sanity has returned to my beloved Thailand

Much power to the people

Kiwijor.

How did you spend your 500bht.

Do you think PAD will take the return of Thaksin sitting down? Yes I realize they will wait some time for this to cool down, but given the history, it's hard to believe this is over.

It's not over. It's just begun.

The Pheau Thai have said they wil grant amnesty to HIM. Do you think the people who really control this country will allow that?

Do you think PAD will take the return of Thaksin sitting down? Yes I realize they will wait some time for this to cool down, but given the history, it's hard to believe this is over.

It's not over. It's just begun.

The Pheau Thai have said they wil grant amnesty to HIM. Do you think the people who really control this country will allow that?

Not really, unless they make some kind of back room deal.

Personally I think this is a good thing for Thailand in a purely superficial way.

The biggest asset is going to be Yingluck herself.

She's going to be a huge media hit across the world.

She's well read, very articulate and lets face it...she is hot.

She's not articulate in English and hasn't faced a tough interview. Not to mention her refusal to debate.

She's not articulate in English ?? So what ?? She is THAI

It is time for the disgruntled, especially disgruntled farang to plug their mouth holes, and let the process take it's course.

Khun Thaksin will probably be back in time for Songkran 2012