Thai ex-PM's fortunes boosted by electoral results

Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power, had been all but written off by his foes and many in the mainstream Thai media after his supporters rioted in the capital in April and seemed to discredit his movement.

The billionaire politician was already on the run before being convicted last year of violating a conflict of interest law that saw him sentenced in absentia to two years in prison, and much of his fortune remains frozen in Thai banks.

He has also come under increasing pressure internationally, forced to use a variety of passports to travel after his Thai credentials were cancelled and he was barred from several countries, including Britain and Germany, following diplomatic pressure from Thailand.

But the Pheua Thai Party - filled with many of Thaksin's former allies and seen by supporters as the party representing his interests - still managed to romp home with an estimated 62 per cent of the vote in Sunday's byelection to fill an empty parliamentary seat in the northeastern province of Sisaket. That count comes from the election commission, though it has yet to certify the results.

The victory came a week after another Pheua Thai candidate swept 76 per cent of the votes in Sakhon Nakhon, also in Thailand's northeast, the heavily populated region that has always been the bulwark of Thaksin's support.

"This is very good for our morale. We have been bullied in various ways for the past few years," said Thaksin's brother Payap, an executive member of Pheua Thai. "The public have not abandoned us, and we will fight along their side for democracy and for better living conditions."

Thaksin's supporters are regrouping, and about 20,000 to 30,000 turned out for a rally Saturday in Bangkok, braving sporadic downpours to hear speeches calling for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's resignation, the dissolution of parliament, and new elections.

Abhisit acknowledged Monday that Thaksin's support "is still there." But he said the election results had been expected because the northeast is Pheua Thai's base and it campaigned hard.

In both polls, the losing candidates were from parties that are junior members of the ruling coalition headed by Abhisit, whose Democrat Party took power in December.

So convincing were the election results that they may actually have a silver lining for Abhisit, as the fractious junior partners in his coalition weigh the benefits of sticking with him against the risks of taking their chances of quitting and triggering new polls.

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