Thaksin Shinawatra’s party appeared to have secured most parliamentary seats in the Bangkok area in the country’s snap election, although a high ratio of No votes suggested he had lost much of his support from city residents

As ballot counting continues in other parts of the country, early results for Bangkok showed Mr Thaksin’s party won 45.8 per cent of the ballots, while 50.1 per cent of voters cast a No ballot, a formal abstention. A No vote was the only alternative in the largely uncontested election due to a boycott by opposition parties.