Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was removed from power by a military coup in 2006 and now lives in exile in Dubai.
His sister Yingluck leads the Pheu Thai party which is doing well in opinion polls and could form the next government.
Last year clashes between red shirt protesters sympathetic to Thaksin Shinawatra and Thai security forces in Bangkok left more than 90 people dead.
Stephen Sackur asked Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva just how stable is Thailand's democracy?
You can watch the full interview on BBC World News on Monday June 27 2011 at 0330, 0830, 1530 and 2030 GMT and on BBC News Channel on June 1 at 0430 and on June 28 at 0030 BST.
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