Polls have closed in Thailand in an election seen as a referendum on the controversial leadership of the Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.
The prime minister called the vote three years early in an attempt to halt daily protests in the capital, Bangkok, demanding he step down for alleged abuse of power and corruption.
An opposition boycott of the vote means that even if Thaksin wins, he may not have enough support to form a parliament.
Shortly after the polls closed at 3pm local time (9am Irish time), bombs exploded outside two voting stations in the southern Narathiwat province, wounding four security officers.
Earlier, police detonated a small bomb near a polling station in the southern province of Pattani.
