Analysis-Thailand's ex-PM Thaksin shakes up election with talk of return

FILE PHOTO: Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra speaks to Reuters during an interview in Singapore February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Adored by millions and reviled by many, Thai billionaire ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has towered over his country's turbulent politics for more than two decades - even though he's lived mostly in self-exile since the army overthrew him in 2006.

Now, Thaksin's announcement of plans to return to Thailand in July has caused a stir as voters prepare to go to the polls in a general election on Sunday, with implications for the vote and the inevitable horse-trading afterwards to form a government, analysts say.