Thailand’s military accepts sweeping election win

BANGKOK: Thailand's military eased concerns of renewed turmoil Monday by accepting the sweeping electoral win of toppled ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra's party, while his sister vowed to reconcile the deeply divided nation as its first female prime minister.

The election marked an extraordinary rebuke of the military-backed establishment that deposed Thaksin in a coup five years ago, and the opposition's strong mandate in parliament was likely to boost stability in the short-term, a fact reflected in a sharp rise in the Thai stock market Monday.

Thaksin's overthrow in 2006 triggered years of political unrest in the Southeast Asian kingdom, including mass street protests launched by Thaksin's supporters last year that were crushed in a bloody army crackdown.