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Bangkok: Polling stations opened in Thailand on Sunday in the first election since a bloodless military coup against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra last year.
Voting is scheduled to end seven hours later with unofficial results expected by midnight.
Some 45 million Thais were eligible to cast their ballots.
Most opinion polls suggest the openly pro-Thaksin People Power Party will come first but fall short of an outright majority in the 480-seat parliament.
Vote buying is rampant in Thai elections and the Nation newspaper reported that authorities are investigating nearly 160 cases of alleged vote fraud.
Major street protests could trigger another military coup, analysts say.
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