Yingluck Shinawatra: "The first priority is the economy"
The party allied to ousted and exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra has won a major victory in Thailand's general election, partial results show.
With most votes counted, outgoing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva conceded victory to his rival, opposition leader Yingluck Shinawatra.Ms Yingluck, who will become Thailand's first female prime minister, said there was "a lot of hard work ahead".
She is the sister of Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a coup in 2006.
With 92% of votes counted, Ms Yingluck's Pheu Thai party had won 260 seats, giving it a majority in the 500-seat parliament.
"It is now clear from the election results so far that the Pheu Thai party has won the election, and the Democrat Party concedes defeat," Mr Abhisit said on national TV.
The longer the campaign went on, the more the momentum seemed to be with the opposition.
But few predicted the margin of victory would be as decisive as it now appears.
Yingluck Shinawatra has never run for political office before but her family name energised a support base still loyal to her older brother.
This result is a clear rejection of the military's intervention and a bitter disappointment to outgoing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Both main parties campaigned on the need to move beyond the bitter divisions and bloodshed of recent years. That will only happen if the final official result is accepted by all sides.
"I would like to congratulate the Pheu Thai party for the right to form a government.
"I will give the chance to Yingluck, the first woman to form a government," he added. "I want to see unity and reconciliation. The Democrats are ready to be in opposition."The BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok says the Pheu Thai party has won a decisive victory.
After Mr Abhisit admitted defeat, Miss Yingluck was cautious in her response. She thanked Mr Abhisit and said she would wait for the official results to be declared.
"I won't say today that we have won but the people have given us a chance and there is a lot of hard work ahead," she said.
'Much work ahead' When exit polls were shown on television, Pheu Thai supporters erupted in celebration at the party headquarters in Bangkok.
Mr Thaksin told the BBC from his self-imposed exile in Dubai that it was clear the Thai people had voted for change.
"They want to see reconciliation, we want to have reconciliation," Mr Thaksin told the Newshour programme.
All parties will have to respect the voters' decision, he said.
Mr Thaksin, whose government was toppled in a military coup in 2006, said the military should also "be listening to what the people think".
Asked whether he would now be returning to Thailand, the former prime minister said he was in "no hurry".
"I want to see reconciliation really happen," he said. "I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem."
The past few years have seen street protests, airport closures and clashes between the supporters of the two main groups, which our correspondent says have tarnished the country's economy and reputation for being a bastion of democracy in south-east Asia.
Last year, protesters shut down parts of Bangkok for two months in a bid to force the government to resign. When the army stepped in to clear the capital's streets it degenerated into violence, leaving 91 people dead.
Many of the red-shirt demonstrators were supporters of Mr Thaksin.
'Very crucial' Final official results are due in the late evening.
How the voting system works in Thailand, and why this election is so important
More than 40 parties fielded 3,832 candidates for the 500-seat lower house of parliament, the House of Representatives.
In a two-tier system of voting, 375 legislators will be elected by constituency, while 125 candidates will be chosen from lists according to the proportion of votes each party receives nationwide on a separate ballot. There are some 47 million eligible voters.
Yingluck Shinawatra was one of the first to vote at a school in Bangkok. She smiled and showed her ID card to television cameras before casting her ballot.
She said: "Thank you, supporters, who have been so kind to me."
Ms Yingluck is a political novice and analysts say her popularity seems to rest on the fact she is campaigning on the policies of her brother, who many believe is Pheu Thai's real leader.
Thailand's troubles
- Sept 2006: Army overthrows government of Thaksin Shinawatra, rewrites constitution
- Dec 2007: Pro-Thaksin People Power Party wins most votes in election
- Aug 2008: Mr Thaksin flees into exile before end of corruption to trial
- Dec 2008: Mass yellow-shirt protests paralyse Bangkok; Constitutional Court bans People Power Party; Abhisit Vejjajiva comes to power
- Mar-May 2010: Thousands of pro-Thaksin red shirts occupy parts of Bangkok; eventually cleared by army; dozens killed
He is living in Dubai to avoid a corruption conviction.
Mr Abhisit had also voted in Bangkok and urged people to "cast votes quickly because this election is very crucial for our country".He had said a vote for Pheu Thai was a vote for Mr Thaksin, and pointed out the party's own slogan was "Thaksin thinks, Pheu Thai does".
He said the country must "get rid of the poison of Thaksin".
With Pheu Thai's win all but confirmed, analysts say all eyes will once again be on the military, which has regularly intervened in the political process. Army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha on Thursday stressed that he would stay neutral.
Thailand has had 18 attempted or successful military coups since democracy was established in 1932.
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