THAKSIN TO FIGHT CHARGES
Thaksin said he planned to return to Thailand between February and April to clear his name of corruption charges brought by military-appointed investigators.
"That is the period when we expect a new government to have been formed and the country has returned to democracy," he said.
"I will not take any political position," he said. "I am quitting politics."
But Thaksin told a Hong Kong news conference he would be happy to advise the PPP, a statement likely to convince many people he planned to pull the strings of the government.
"I will give my ideas free of charge," he said.
A clear picture of who will form a government is unlikely to emerge until the new year with most parties unwilling to show their hands until the Election Commission finalises the results, expected by January 3.
The PPP won almost 50 percent of the popular vote, mostly in the rural heartlands where Thaksin is regarded as the first Thai leader to pay serious attention to poor country folk through cheap health care and pumping money into the villages.
Bangkok went solidly for the Democrat Party, the main opposition during Thaksin's five years in power, which won 165 seats and is favoured by the military and royalist establishment.
Despite the prospect of the political turmoil of the past two years continuing, the Thai stock market rose three percent, albeit in very thin trade, when it reopened on Tuesday after an election holiday.
Investors believed the election would improve political stability and economic growth, likely to fall from 5.1 percent in 2006 towards 4 percent this year, the lowest in six years.
But there were still fears the polarisation of the country, which has had 18 coups in 75 years of on-off democracy, could result in more bloodshed and another military intervention.
"If such divisions result in another unconstitutional replacement of the government, or social unrest, the political and economic consequences will be much more negative than experienced so far," ratings agency Standard & Poor's said.
