Allies of Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's deposed prime minister, won a convincing victory in yesterday's parliamentary elections in a strong rebuke to the military coup leaders who drove the controversial premier from power last year.

However, the People's Power party, which became a refuge for Thaksin loyalists following the May dissolution of the former leader's Thai Rak Thai party, fell slightly short of the 240 seats needed for an absolute parliamentary majority, with early results showing them winning about 230 places in the 480-seat assembly.