'Crisis will only worsen after Thai polls'

Even if his Thai Rak Thai Party wins 30 million votes on Sunday, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's legitimacy will continue to be called into question due to his lack of ethics, Thirayuth Boonmee said Monday.

Thirayuth, who held a press conference at Thammasat University to launch a fresh attack on Thaksin, said the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) should be more selective about staging protests against Thaksin and prepare for a fight that might last a year or longer.

Failure to oust Thaksin will see Thailand become like the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos or Argentina under military rule, he said.

"I won't accept him even if he gains 30 million votes due to his [lack of] morality and ethics. The electoral system is too narrow a rule [for the whole of democracy]" Thirayuth said. "Do you think that things will end after [the election on] April 2?"

Unlike those who believe the election might help whitewash Thaksin and give him a fresh mandate, the Thammasat sociologist said it would likely have the opposite affect by further highlighting the illegitimacy of Thaksin's rule.

"I'm not afraid of the election. I think it will create more problems and reduce the legitimacy of Thaksin, and Thaksin will not be able to govern the country," he said.

After the election the Thai Rak Thai Party might not have the 500 MPs required by law, due to the high probability that its candidates will not attain 20 per cent of the votes in some uncontested constituencies, Thirayuth said.

If this happens the House of Representatives will not be able to convene and a new prime minister may not be appointed.

"This problem will be huge," Thirayuth said.

But even if Thaksin manages to return to power, the election will not remove the stain of corruption left by the tax-free sale of Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings, Thirayuth said.