Thailand Elects Abhisit Vejjajiva New PM

The house speaker announces that Abhisit Vejjajiva has won by more than 30 votes.

Hundreds of protesters greeted the news by unsuccessfully trying to block the exits of the parliament. They are angry that the winner is not an ally of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr. Ahbisit's predecessor was Somchai Wongsawat, who resigned after a court banned him and his party for election violations.

Mr. Somchai is close to Mr. Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup two years ago and now lives in exile.

Mr. Thaksin remains popular among the urban working class and rural poor. But many in the middle class accuse him of being corrupt and authoritarian.

For months, thousands of protesters have demanded that the government resign because of the ruling party's ties to Mr. Thaksin. Two weeks ago, they crippled the air transportation system, by occupying down Bangkok's international airport.

By VOA