[April 03, 2006] Thailand's Thaksin wins empty victory Tweet (UPI Top Stories Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Thailand's election appears to have settled nothing, giving Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra a hollow victory. Opposition parties boycotted Sunday's vote, the Financial Times reported. While Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party won a parliamentary majority, it may not be able to form a government. In 38 districts, single candidates failed to win the required 20 percent of the eligible vote. By-elections must be held in those districts, but they could be equally inconclusive. While Thaksin appears to have done well with rural voters, he got little support from Bangkok's educated classes. Many voted No or simply spoiled their ballots to register their opposition to Thaksin. This is not going to be the end of conflict, a 55-year-old business owner told the Times as he cast a no-vote ballot in Bangkok. The only way there will be peace is if Thaksin steps down. Weeks of demonstrations have protested Thaksin's alleged corruption and abuse of power. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]