THAILAND: Exit polls say opposition party Puea Thai headed for landslide victory in parliamentary elections

Record ID: 783571

  • Title: THAILAND: Exit polls say opposition party Puea Thai headed for landslide victory in parliamentary elections
  • Date: 4th July 2011
  • Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (JULY 3, 2011) (REUTERS) PUEA THAI PRIME MINISTERIAL CANDIDATE YINGLUCK SHINAWATRA ARRIVING AT PARTY YINGLUCK LEAVING IN VAN YINGLUCK'S SUPPORTERS CHANTING: "YINGLUCK IS NUMBER 1" YINGLUCK BEING SURROUNDED BY SUPPORTERS AND JOURNALISTS SUPPORTERS CHEERING YINGLUCK GREETING PEOPLE MORE OF YINGLUCK'S SUPPORTERS CHANTING MEDIA SURROUNDING YINGLUCK TELEVISION SCREEN SHOWING EXIT POLLS SUPPORTERS CHANTING (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) 64-YEAR-OLD PUEA THAI SUPPORTER SUCHART WATTANASOONTORN, SAYING: "I want them to make the reconciliation plan their first priority, and the development of the country can come second." MAN SHOWING POSTER WITH PHOTO OF EX-PRIME MINISTER THAKSIN SHINAWATRA (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) PUEA THAI SUPPORTER, SAYING: "This is the right way for politics to go, and this has really been a fair (election)." SUPPORTERS CHANTING
  • Embargoed: 19th July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand, Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABGTS86M3Z0AOFF6PYBQIHVARZ
  • Story Text: Exit polls showed the opposition winning Thailand's general election by a landslide on Sunday (July 3) and possibly paving the way for Yingluck Shinawatra to become the country's first female prime minister in a victory for a red-shirted political movement.
    Yingluck, 44, an experienced business executive but political novice, led a successful, disciplined and media-savvy campaign that surprised skeptics, giving some independent analysts confidence she could perform well in international forums.
    An exit poll by Bangkok's Suan Dusit University, considered the most historically reliable, showed Puea Thai winning 313 seats with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's Democrat Party taking just 152.
    Another exit poll by national Institute of Development and Administration (NIDA) showed Puea Thai receiving 324 seats and 142 for Democrat Party.
    Bangkok's Assumption University (ABAC) put the number of seats won by the opposition at 299.
    At Bangkok's Puea Thai headquarters, about 300 of red-shirted supporters gathered outside the party to show their support to Yingluck.
    The supporters chanted slogans "Yingluck, You are Number One", some shouted "This is our first female prime minister," while Yingluck thanked them for their support.
    Throughout the six-week campaign, the Puea Thai has presented similar populist campaigns of subsidies for the poor, improved healthcare benefits and infrastructure investment including high-speed rail systems across the country.
    One of Yingluck's supporters said the unity of the country should come first.
    "I want them to make reconciliation plan as the first priority, the development of the country can come second," said 64-year-old Puea Thai supporter Suchart Wattanasoontorn.
    Supporters welcomed the result of exit polls.
    "This is the right way of political and this is really a fair (election)," said another Yingluck supporter.
    Thaksin and his sister have the support of urban poor "red-shirt" supporters in the north and northeastern provinces.
    They hope Yingluck can bring back Thaksin, a former telecommunications magnate who rode a wave of rural support to win back-to-back elections in 2001 and 2005 before his ouster in a 2006 military coup. He is currently in self-exile in Dubai.
    The red-shirted protesters brought Bangkok's commercial district to a standstill in 11 weeks of protests last year, shuttering five-star hotels before an army crackdown in which 91 people were killed and 2,000 wounded.
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