Voting in Thailand’s first national election since 2007 kicked off this morning.
The New York Times describes the vote this way:
Thais were voting Sunday in a hotly contested election that will open the next stage in the country’s long-running power struggle between the fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the entrenched political and social establishment that supported a coup that drove him from office more than five years ago.
Meanwhile, here’s an overview of the voting from Al Jazeera English. Video embedded below and available on YouTube.
Elsewhere, Reuters relates a lighthearted moment:
A Thai television presenter asked Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva if this would be the last time he would be interviewing him as prime minister.
Abhisit replied: “Why? Are you quitting journalism?”
It was a brave show of confidence ahead of Sunday’s election by the urbane, Oxford-educated economist who also goes under the birth name of “Mark.”
As a reminder, here’s my roundup of resources for following the election online.
For timely tidbits, I suggest my Bangkok journalists and media-types Twitter list, as well as my general Thailand Twitter list.
Stay tuned…