On Sunday, Minister's Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai party seems to have won the elections aimed at silencing the ever growing protests.

Opposition parties boycotted the elections, accusing the PM of corruption, and also said they would run in a new election if Thaksin resigns immediately. He is accused of abusing the country's system of checks and balances and changing government policy in order to benefit his family's business.

Protests ignited when his family announced it had sold telecom company Shin Corp. to Temasek Holdings, owned by Singapore for a tax-free $1.9 billion. Final results have not yet been released, but, so far, Thaksin's party received 16 million votes, meaning 57%.

"We have no problem with the prime minister's offer. I have talked with representatives from the two other parties who said they had no problem with the offer either," stated Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva. Thaksin previously stated he will resign if his party will not win more than 50% of the votes.

Due to the boycott, the Thai Rak Thai party was the only major one participating in the vote, opposition members wishing to make it impossible for all 500 parliamentary seats to be filled. Their efforts seem to have worked because in at least 38 districts, the party did not win the minimum 20% of ballots cast.

The country now seems to be divided like never before. The Thai Rak is supported by the countryside, while the traditionally Democrat heartlands of the far south and many areas of Bangkok oppose it.

The election process was accompanied by some violence, bombs exploding at three polling stations in Thailand's troubled southern region, which injured two policemen and four soldiers in Narathiwat.