Thaksin claims victory in Thai poll
Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai prime minister, last night claimed victory in Sunday's controversial snap elections.
However, he said he would be willing to step down from power if he was sure his sacrifice would reconcile a population now deeply split over his leadership.
Mr Thaksin said that his Thai Rak Thai (Thais love Thais) party won 16m of the 28m votes cast in a poll boycotted by the opposition, though the election commission had yet to announce official results last night
The Thai Rak Thai vote was markedly down from the 19m votes it won in a landslide re-election 14 months ago, but Mr Thaksin said the fall reflected reduced turnout rather than any erosion of his popularity.
The premier did reach out to his political enemies yesterday, offering to establish a neutral reconciliation commission made up of prominent figures from Thai political life to hear grievances against him.
He said he would accept any advice from the panel - including a demand for his resignation - but only if the protests against him stopped first.
But the opposition Democrat party, which has spearheaded the street protests, quickly rebuffed a proposal that analysts called ambiguous and impractical.
Somchai Phagaphasvivat, a political scientist at Thammasat University, said Mr Thaksin's plan may have been intended to persuade Thais he had tried to reason with his rivals before an imminent crackdown on demonstrators, who plan to hold their next mass protest on Friday.
"It's a message to the public that says, 'I have already done my best to extend an olive branch to the opposition, and if they disregard this, I have to take a more drastic step',"Mr Phagaphasvivat said.
他信宣称赢得泰国大选
泰国总理他信?西那瓦(Thaksin Shinawatra)昨晚宣称，他在周日有争议的提前大选中获胜。
但他信表示，如果他确信自己下台能弥合国民围绕他的领导而产生的严重分歧，他将愿意辞职。
这位总理昨天向他的政敌表示善意，提议建立一个由泰国政界杰出人士组成的中立调解委员会，对针对他的不满意见进行听证。
他表示，他将接受该委员会的任何建议，包括让他辞职的要求，但前提是针对他的抗议活动先平息下来。
