Thais hope poll will end rifts, few expect it

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai voters say they hope Sunday's election will end the political rifts deepened by a bloodless 2006 military coup, but few expect a smooth return to democracy.

"We're likely to get a coalition government that will face its fair share of problems, but we can only hope it can restore national unity," property developer Kasem Sirikantraporn said after voting at a Bangkok polling station.

Turnout was heavy in the predominately Buddhist country of 64 million where Thais voted in the first election since a military coup ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra 15 months ago.

Nearly 40 parties were vying for 480 seats in parliament, but the contest was mainly between the openly pro-Thaksin People Power Party (PPP) and the Democrats, the country's oldest party.

Kasem said he voted for the Democrats because of their "cleaner record", but exit polls said it came in a distant second to the PPP, which will get first crack at cobbling together a coalition with minor parties.

But the army and the royalist establishment, which Thaksin supporters blame for the coup, would do everything they could to stop the PPP by fostering allegations of electoral fraud against its candidates and potential partners, analysts said.

They would prefer a coalition led by the Democrats, the main opposition during Thaksin's five years in power.

Voters see weeks, if not months, of uncertainty ahead.

"It doesn't really matter which party gets in just as long as we have a government as soon as possible," 60-year-old Anunt told Reuters after voting in Bangkok.

Analysts say regardless who leads the next government, the next prime minister will be under pressure to revive a sluggish economy since the coup.

The cost of living has soared, due in part to high oil prices, while investor confidence has been damaged by botched economic measures imposed by the post-coup interim government.

"I hope we get good people this time who will work for the people and the country," Visarn Katnampornlert, a 67-year-old retiree, said after casting his ballot.

(Editing by Darren Schuettler)