Asia-Pacific

Polls open in controversial Thai election

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-04-02 09:17

Polling booths in Thailand opened at 8 am (0100) on Sunday in a election called three years early by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to try to foil a street campaign to oust him.

Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party is expected to win a thumping majority, but an opposition boycott means the result might not satisfy the constitution, which says all 500 seats in parliament must be filled to allow a government to be formed.