Thais vote on Sunday in a general election called by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to rout a campaign to oust him but likely to plunge the country into a constitutional mess.
Facing an opposition boycott, Thaksin turned the poll into a referendum by pledging to quit if his Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party wins less than 50 percent of the ballots cast.
That is unlikely to happen as rural Thais, who have enjoyed village handouts and cheap healthcare under five years of Thaksin rule, look set to give him another thumping majority.
But the boycott means the result is almost sure to fall short of a constitutional requirement that all 500 parliamentary seats be filled for a new government to be formed.
Thai Rak Thai candidates are running unopposed in 265 of 400 constituencies and as many as 50 could fail to win the minimum 20 percent of the vote they need to record victory in an uncontested seat, casting doubt on the validity of the overall result.
Some 45 million Thais are eligible to vote when polls open at 8 am (0100 GMT) and close 7 hours later. Preliminary results from the Election Commission (EC) are not due until early Monday.
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