(AFP) – Dec 20, 2007

BANGKOK (AFP) — Exiled premier Thaksin Shinawatra injected himself Friday into the last night of campaigning for general elections, as one of his political allies announced that he would return to Thailand in February.

About 20,000 cheering supporters, some wearing Thaksin masks, filled a park in Bangkok's historic district where his allies in the People Power Party (PPP) held their final rally ahead of Sunday's elections, which are meant to restore democracy after more than a year of military rule.

"Thaksin said if he came back before the government is formed, he would be accused of trying to make more trouble," PPP's deputy leader Chalerm Yoobamrung said to thundering applause.

"So he will return on February 14, which is Valentine's Day, the day of love," he said.

The twice-elected Thaksin has lived in Britain since his government was overthrown in a bloodless coup in September 2006 following months of political turmoil and street protests.

He has succeeded in staying the spotlight and casting a long shadow over the elections, partly through his purchase of the Manchester City football club, which captured headlines here for weeks.

His supporters in the PPP have also openly campaigned with promises to revive the nation's economy by following Thaksin's policies of encouraging foreign investment while lavishing cash on Thailand's rural heartland.

"Starting now, our country will return to normal, no matter which party (the military) supports. I have no reason to be afraid of them. I haven't done anything wrong," PPP leader Samak Sundaravej said.

PPP's main rival, the Democrat Party led by Oxford-educated Abhisit Vejjajiva, has struggled to draw voters' attention away from Thaksin and to broaden his party's appeal beyond Bangkok's middle classes and its traditional stronghold in the south.

For their final rally, Abhisit drew about 2,000 people to a small park next to an upmarket mall in downtown Bangkok, police said.

"This Sunday's election is not just about the junta and Thaksin. Thais cast their ballots this Sunday for the future of the country," he told the cheering crowd.

"Thai people have learned the lesson of old politics. This Sunday we have to bring a major change to restore peace in the country," he said.

But the country remains fiercely divided, with the poorer northeast still loyal to Thaksin, while people in more prosperous Bangkok and the central regions are vehemently opposed to the return of the millionaire politician.

"What emerges very clearly is this election is about whether or not you support Thaksin and (his party) Thai Rak Thai, or whether or not you support the junta and those who opposed him," said Giles Ji Ungpakorn, a politics lecturer at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

Analysts predict that neither party will win an outright majority of the 480 seats up for grabs, forcing them to form a coalition with a clutch of smaller outfits.

Some 45.6 million voters are eligible to cast ballots in the polls, Thailand's third general election in less than three years.

Observers question how free and fair elections can be when more than one-third of the country, mainly Thaksin's electoral bases, is still under martial law.

The election takes place under an army-backed constitution, approved in an August referendum, that weakens the powers of the prime minister while giving more authority to the military and bureaucracy.

The military also got a last-minute boost when the army-installed parliament late Thursday approved a new security law that was heavily criticised for giving the generals broad powers to suspend basic rights.

Election campaigning has so far been uninspired, Giles said, with the policies of the main parties largely indistinguishable as they scramble to try to fill the hole left by TRT.

"It isn't very exciting in the sense that it doesn't really matter what anyone says or puts forward in the campaign -- I think most people know which side of the major divide they stand," said Giles.

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