Protesters attack a car coming out of parliament after the voting for the country's new prime minister, opposition party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, in Bangkok on Monday. (Associated Press)Protesters tried to blockade legislators in the Parliament compound after they voted in opposition party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva as the next prime minister.

The Oxford-educated politician, who leads the Democrat Party, secured 235 votes to the 198 cast for his rival, Pracha Promnok.

Promnok, who leads the Pheu Pandin party, is a loyalist of the exiled but still powerful former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The lower house vote comes after months of instability sparked by anti-government and anti-Thaksin demonstrations that included a weeklong siege of Bangkok's airports, hurting the tourism-driven economy as it hovers on the brink of a recession.

Several hundred Thaksin supporters took aim at parliamentarians shortly after a slim majority of MPs voted in Abhisit.

Demonstrators briefly blocked the gates of the Parliament building using police barriers, preventing legislators from leaving the compound, the Bangkok daily newspaper The Nation reported.

The protesters, who were wearing red shirts, also tossed rocks at vehicles carrying MPs from Abhisit's Democrat Party and denounced Abhisit as a front man for the military.

"We are not going to accept this. [Abhisit] did not win the election," said Sukhum Wongprasit in a fiery speech outside parliament. "We will blockade the gates of parliament so they won't be able to come out."

Leader of the Democrat party Abhisit Vejjajiva, leaves the parliament's chamber after being chosen as Thailand's new prime minister. (Apichart Weerawong/Associated Press)

The military ousted Thaksin in 2006 and has been accused of political meddling.

Following the vote, Abhisit thanked fellow legislators and the public but refused to talk about policies until his official endorsement as prime minister by the constitutional monarch.

Thaksin still playing role

Despite the protest, analysts expressed hope that the selection of a new prime minister would offer a brief respite from recent political instability.

A siege at Bangkok's two airports ended on Dec. 2 after a court ruling dissolved the ruling People's Power Party and handed a five-year political ban to former prime minister Somchai Wongsawat, who is Thaksin's brother-in-law.

Thaksin, a former telecommunications magnate, was ousted in a 2006 bloodless coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power. He lives in exile after fleeing the country ahead of his conviction in absentia on a conflict of interest charge.

But the former prime minister is still active in politics. On Saturday, a prerecorded video speech by Thaksin was played at a rally of more than 40,000 supporters at a Bangkok stadium.

In it, Thaksin decried inappropriate interference in the political process, suggesting the army intervened in favour of the Democrats, and denounced loyalists who switched their allegiance.

Thaksin still has the support of many in Thailand's impovershed countryside, and the rural-urban divide has played a significant role in the current crisis.

Abhisit, meanwhile, was born in England to a wealthy family of Thai-Chinese origin and educated at Eton and Oxford. His first name means "privilege" in Thai.

"This is very bad for poor people. Abhisit was born with silver spoons and forks in his mouth. He knows nothing but wealth and privilege. How could he solve our problems?" said Chaiya Paitoonsiri, a taxi driver from the impoverished northeastern province of Maha Sarakam.

Abhisit also faces an uphill battle of trying to neutralize Thaksin supporters who have vowed to take to the streets themselves while also handling the economic downturn and trying to keep his fragile coalition of small parties intact.

"Abhisit is untested and that is both good and bad. He has a clean record. He is well-educated, eloquent and principled so the public will likely give him a chance," says Panithan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

But he has not yet outlined any solutions to the multiple problems facing the country.

"That is his weakness and that lack of decisiveness and clear political stance could turn against him very quickly," Panithan said. "It's going to be among Thailand's roughest premierships."

Thailand's economy has taken a battering due to the global slowdown, a local climate of uncertainty and the seven-day stoppage of international flights that battered the country's vital tourism industry and stranded upward of 300,000 travellers.

Some economists are predicting Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy will slip into recession next year.

With files from the Associated Press