Thailand set to elect first woman Prime Minister

CBC:

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has conceded defeat to opposition leader Yingluck Shinawatra in the country's first general election after years of political unrest.

Abhisit congratulated Yingluck, the youngest sister of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown by a 2006 military coup and now lives in exile in Dubai to avoid a corruption conviction.

Two respected exit polls had indicated the opposition party allied to the ousted prime minister would win a majority of the Thai parliament's 500 seats. One poll showed Yingluck's party, widely believed to be Thaksin's proxy, had captured more than 300 seats.

With 80 per cent of the vote counted, official results indicated the Pheu Thai Party would win 251 seats, just over the majority needed to form a goverment.

The apparent election result paves the way for Yingluck to become the Southeast Asian Kindom's first female prime minister.

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