Thailand opposition wins key election

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Yingluck Shinawatra: "The first priority is the economy"</div>
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The  party allied to ousted and exiled ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra has won a  major victory in Thailand's general election, provisional results show.</div>
With most votes counted, outgoing Prime Minister Abhisit  Vejjajiva has conceded victory to his rival, opposition leader Yingluck  Shinawatra.
Ms Yingluck, who will become Thailand's first female prime minister, said there was "a lot of hard work ahead".
She is the younger sister of Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a coup in 2006.
With 92% of votes counted, Ms Yingluck's Pheu Thai party had won 260 seats, giving it a majority in the 500-seat parliament.
"It is now clear from the election results so far that the  Pheu Thai party has won the election, and the Democrat Party concedes  defeat," Mr Abhisit said on national TV.
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"I will give the chance to Yingluck, the first  woman to form a government," he added. "I want to see unity and  reconciliation. The Democrats are ready to be in opposition."</div>
After Mr Abhisit admitted defeat, Miss Yingluck was cautious  in her response. She thanked Mr Abhisit and said she would wait for the  official results to be declared.
"I don't want to say it is victory for me and the Pheu Thai  party but people are giving me a chance and I will work to my best  ability for the people," she said at her party headquarters.
"I would like to reiterate that we are ready to deliver on  all of the policies that we have announced. There is a lot of hard work  ahead."
She said her party officials had been in talks with the smaller Chart Thai Pattana party with a view to forming a coalition.
"In the future there are more parties expected to come and work with Pheu Thai," she said.
<span class="cross-head">'Voted for change'</span>        Mr Thaksin told the BBC from his self-imposed exile in Dubai that it was clear the Thai people had voted for change.
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"They want to see reconciliation, we want to have reconciliation," Mr Thaksin told the Newshour programme.
All parties will have to respect the voters' decision, he said.
Mr Thaksin, whose government was toppled in a military coup  in 2006, said the military should also "be listening to what the people  think".
Asked whether he would now be returning to Thailand, the former prime minister said he was in "no hurry".
"I want to see reconciliation really happen," he said. "I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem."
The past few years have seen street protests, airport  closures and clashes between the supporters of the two main groups,  which our correspondent says have tarnished the country's economy and  reputation for being a bastion of democracy in south-east Asia.
Last year, protesters shut down parts of Bangkok for two  months in a bid to force the government to resign. When the army stepped  in to clear the capital's streets it degenerated into violence, leaving  91 people dead.
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Many of the red-shirt demonstrators were supporters of Mr Thaksin.</div>
More than 40 parties fielded 3,832 candidates for the 500-seat lower house of parliament, the House of Representatives.
In a two-tier system of voting, 375 legislators will be  elected by constituency, while 125 candidates will be chosen from lists  according to the proportion of votes each party receives nationwide on a  separate ballot. There are some 47 million eligible voters.
Ms Yingluck is a political novice and analysts say her  popularity seems to rest on the fact she is campaigning on the policies  of her brother, who many believe is Pheu Thai's real leader.
He is living in Dubai to avoid a corruption conviction.
With Pheu Thai's win all but confirmed, analysts say all eyes  will once again be on the military, which has regularly intervened in  the political process. Army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha on Thursday  stressed that he would stay neutral.
Thailand has had 18 attempted or successful military coups since democracy was established in 1932.