Embattled Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced in Bangkok Tuesday night he would not accept premiership in the upcoming formation of government amid escalating political crisis calling him to step down.

The remarks were made shortly after his audience with the kingdom's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej at his seaside palace in southern Hua Hin Tuesday afternoon.

Thaksin said he made the decision to step down out of the respect to the King, who will celebrate the 60th anniversary of taking the throne this year.

"My reason for not accepting the post of prime minister is because this year is an auspicious year for the king, whose 60th anniversary on the throne is just 60 days away," he said.

Thaksin said he would remain in the position of caretaker prime minister until Parliament selects the new prime minister, adding his replacement would be elected once parliament resumes within the next 30 days.

"We have no time to quarrel. I want to see Thai people unite and forget what has happened," he said.
 
According to preliminary results, Thaksin's TRT party grabbed 16 million of the 28 million popular ballot, some 57 percent of all the votes cast. Meanwhile, the "no vote" has also mounted to around 10 million, which the opposition said has showed TRT is facing a crisis of trust from voters.

The caretaker premier said he would like to thank the 28 million people who came to the poll and the 16 million who voted for him and his TRT party.

In a live interview Monday night, Thaksin claimed the party's election victory, saying he saw no reason to resign as the party was still backed by 16 million voters.

During last year's election, TRT won 19 million votes and swept377 parliamentary seats.

The caretaker prime minister floated the idea of setting up an independent committee to work on national reconciliation. He suggested that it be composed of non-partisan individuals and gather different opinions and find common grounds to seek reconciliation.

However, the offer was flatly turned down by his foes. Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters Tuesday the opposition would run in by-elections if Thaksin quit at the moment.

Suriyasai Katasila of the People's Alliance for Democracy, an ad hoc coalition which spearheaded the street campaigns, promised to end their protest if the premier makes an official announcement of resignation.

Tens of thousands of protestors have held regular weekend rallies demanding Thaksin to resign over the past two months, accusing the tycoon-turned-politician of corruption, abuse of power and cronyism.

The anti-Thaksin campaign inflamed in late January after Thaksin's family sold its controlling stake in telecom giant Shin Corp. to a Singapore state-owned investment company for US$1.9 billion.

Critics alleged the sale involved insider trading and tax dodges, and complained that a key national asset is now in a foreign government's hands.

On Feb. 24, the premier abruptly dissolved the parliament and called snap elections on April 2 as a way out of political dilemma which has thrown the country onto the brink of chaos.

Despite the boycott by three major opposition parties, Thaksin has determined to push forward the polls which he portrayed as a referendum on his rule.

The boycott, combined with the disqualification of some 400 obscure-party candidates, has transformed the election into a one-party race in 278 constituencies, where TRT was running unopposed.

Early return revealed that the party failed to meet the threshold of minimum 20 percent votes in 38 constituencies to claim victory. The constitution requires all seats to be filled before parliament can convene.

The Election Commission (EC) said by-elections would be held in empty seats, most of which are in the opposition-dominated South. But there is no guarantee that any further rounds of voting would produce the remaining MPs.

Sworn in five years ago, the CEO-style telecom tycoon has steered his country out of the shadow of 1997 financial crisis and boosted the sustainable growth of its economy. He also gained credits in handling the 2004 tsunami and in the battle against bird flu.

He is the first ever premier who has fulfilled his term in years and being re-elected in decades in a country long disturbed by coup.

The embattled prime minister had repeatedly said he would not bow to "mob rule" and would like people to decide whether he should stay.

Thaksin on Monday said he was satisfied with the votes his party has received in the polls, but still he has to quit to spare the country of further conflicts and splitting.

"Let's clean up our house and stop the chaos," he said in the televised speech.

(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2006)