Voting begins in widely contested Bangkok poll

[dArKeR]

Voters lined up at polling stations Sunday to pick a new governor for the Thai capital in an election widely seen as a referendum on the leadership of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Twenty-one candidates are vying for the post, but only a handful are considered serious contenders -- including a former mobile phone company executive, a women's rights activist, and the owner of a chain of massage parlors in this city famed for its nightlife.

Pre-election public opinion polls showed the candidate for the opposition Democrat Party, Apirak Kosayodhin, with a narrow lead in Bangkok, where many voters are disillusioned by Thaksin's heavy-handed style.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/08/30/2003200881