The final results match those released shortly after Sunday’s poll, which gave the opposition Pheu Thai party led by Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra 265 of 500 parliamentary seats, well over the majority needed to form a government.
The ruling Democrat party of incumbent Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s won 159 seats, the Election Commission said.
The results are a major rebuke to the elite establishment and army that overthrew Thaksin in a 2006 coup, an event that triggered years of political turmoil from which the country is still struggling to recover.
Thaksin is barred from politics and lives in exile in Dubai to escape a two-year prison term on a graft conviction that he says is politically motivated.
Yingluck moved swiftly Monday to shore up her party’s resounding victory, forming a ruling coalition with four smaller parties and vowing to pursue national reconciliation.
The 2006 military coup sharply polarized Thai society, opening up a struggle between his supporters and opponents that culminated in protests and street battles that roiled Bangkok last year and were crushed by the military. At least 91 people died.
Yingluck, poised to become Thailand’s first female prime minister, has said her priority would be “to lead the country to unity and reconciliation.” The lower house of Parliament has 30 days to convene, and another 30 days from its first session to officially select a prime minister. Pheu Thai’s speedy agreement to form a five-party coalition is a sign that a new government can be expected ahead of the deadlines.
