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Bomb blast outside BIG C in BANGKOK
Bomb wounds 9 in Bangkok on day of by-election
By THANYARAT DOKSONE The Associated Press Sunday, July 25, 2010; 8:34 AM BANGKOK -- A bomb at a bus stop in downtown Bangkok wounded nine people Sunday shortly after polls closed in a parliamentary election that pitted a government candidate against a jailed leader of recent mass protests in the Thai capital. Police Maj. Gen. Anuchai Lekbamroong, at the site of the explosion, declined to speculate whether the bombing was related to Thailand's continued political turbulence in the wake of the street demonstrations that paralyzed much of the capital for weeks. The bomb wounded eight Thai people and one women from Myanmar, the police officer said. The explosion was near two department stores that have been closed since they were torched at the climax of the protests May 19. "I was selling drinks when I heard an explosion," said Urai Wiengsong, a street vendor near the bus stop. "Then people started running off in different directions. I heard men and women scream and shout." Before the explosion, he said, "People stood at the bus stop, waiting for buses. It looked normal." Meanwhile, the government candidate appeared on his way to a narrow victory over a contender being held in jail on terrorism charges in an election touted by rival sides as a barometer of Thailand's political climate, according to preliminary results. The poll was seen as a test of strength for the Red Shirt movement, which from March to May staged demonstrations that were finally put down with lethal force. The protesters had demanded that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolve parliament and call a general election. In the by-election, Panich Vikitsreth, a vice minister for foreign affairs with the ruling Democrat Party, so far had 53 percent of the vote over rival Kokaew Pikulthong, an imprisoned Red Shirt leader, unofficial results from the Election Commission said. The results represented about half of the ballots counted. ad_icon An exit poll by Suan Dusit polling company indicated that Panich would emerge the winner. Kokaew had to campaign from his prison cell, where he is held on terrorism charges for his alleged role in the violent end to the protests. He was contesting a vacant seat in the House of Representatives for the opposition Pheu Thai Party. "This by-election is Bangkok residents' referendum on the government," said Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit before the election. The Democrats made a similar statement. Thailand has been in a state of political turmoil since 2006, when a coup ousted then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was popular among the rural and urban poor. Since then, his supporters and opponents have staged a bitter struggle for power. |
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