Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he will step down as premier after his declared victory in a weekend election failed to resolve a political standoff that crippled his government. Thaksin, 56, speaking in a live television broadcast at a press conference in Bangkok tonight, said he will stay on as interim prime minister until a new leader is chosen. He met with the country's King Bhumibol Adulyadej this afternoon. ``I'm convinced that what I've done as prime minister was the best I could do,'' Thaksin said. Quoting words King Bhumibol Adulyadej has said in the past, he said: ``If we keep competing with each other at the end the loser is the country.''
Thaksin, Thailand's most popular prime minister since the country started electing its leaders in 1932, called snap polls three years early to secure his mandate amid mounting protests against his rule in the capital, Bangkok. Criticism of his rule grew after his family made a tax-free $1.9 billion selling its stake in telecommunications group Shin Corp. on Jan. 23. Thaksin last night declared victory with some 60 percent of the vote and vowed to do ``whatever it takes,'' including resign, to resolve the crisis. He thanked the 16 million who voted for him in snap polls last weekend and apologized to them. He said it was time for all to show unity.