International community uneasy about Thai election.

By Martin Petty
3 April 2006 23:14
Foreign concerns about Thailand’s political stability will grow as a result of Sunday’s controversial election, experts said yesterday, as the international media appeared to cast doubt on the prime minister’s ability to continue running the country.Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last night claimed victory with 16 million votes from the 28 million cast, but foreign newspapers focused on the fragility of the country’s democracy and the prospect of ending the crisis with Thaksin still in power.Newspapers across the globe highlighted the bizarre circumstances under which the elections were held, with several prominent dailies describing the massive number of “No Votes” cast as a slap in the face for the premier.The New York Times said protest votes had made the election one of the most unusual in recent Southeast-Asian history and Australia’s The Age called the poll a “bizarre parody of the democratic process.”The Daily Telegraph in London said Thaksin’s political gamble threatened to backfire and as a result, the country was “heading for a constitutional crisis.”The polls had ended “with a mood of despair and unease,” Singapore’s Straits Times reported.The international community has so far been reluctant to voice concerns about the political crisis, although with plenty of spoiled ballots, protest votes and disqualified candidates, coupled with widespread allegations of vote-buying and electoral fraud, observers say that silence will soon be broken.Kasit Pirom, a former Thai ambassador to the United States and member of an anti-Thaksin alliance, said diplomats had been tight-lipped because Thaksin had followed the Constitution all along, but the powerful number of “No Votes” highlighted the discontent many have with his rule.“The international community will come to the realization that the problem is with the prime minister and they must act.”