Thailand will welcome its very first female prime minister.
Yingluck Shinawatr, 44, reportedly leads the nation’s election against The Democrat Party Prime Ministe, Abhisit Vejjajiva.
According to News.Sky.com, Yingluck Shinawatra is the younger sister of ousted PM Thaskin Shinawatra. Thaskin, a billionaire, fled to Dubai to avoid jail for various charges he claims were politically motivated.
Authorities were still counting votes but Yingluck said her Pheu Thai party already had the majority of votes, reported CNN. About 47 million eligible Thai voters helped decide Thailand’s first general election since 2007, unlike in 2008 when Abhisit was put in office by a parliamentary vote.
The election comes half a decade after Thailand was reportedly divided by the military. With this election, people hope to bring political rest to what had been chaos in past years between the Democratic Party and the Pheu Thai party. Last year, protests against Abhisit’s government turned deadly with around 90 people killed.
According to the Associated Press, a large mandate to govern could help the new government out of the crisis since Thaksin’s 2006 overthrow but its unclear if the nation’s monarchy and the army, will accept this result.
