Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attends a meeting at the Government House in Bangkok July 13, 2006. Thailand's Constitutional Court has agreed to consider legal cases that could lead to the dissolution of the ruling party and the main opposition over charges of electoral fraud.(Xinhua/Rueters Photo)

BANGKOK, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The Constitutional Court of Thailand on Thursday formally accepted a landmark case against the country's five political parties that could lead to their dissolution, further adding to the country's current political confusion and delaying a planned general election.

    "The Constitutional Court panel of judges has decided to accept the case against the five parties," said the court's secretary-general, Paiboon Walahapaithoon.

    The court's 15 judges agreed in a closed-door meeting on Thursday to accept the case which could lead to the parties' dissolution, Paiboon said.

    All the five parties have 15 days to defend themselves after the court send them the charges they face.

    Thailand's Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) formally forwarded the charge to the Constitutional Court early July, alleging that five parties, namely the ruling Thai Rak Thai (TRT) Party, the Democrat Party, Prachatipatai Kaona Party, Patana Chat Thai Party and Thai Ground Party, committed election fraud, which could lead to the dissolution of all the five parties.

    The OAG charge was made after all the 11 top persecutors voted for a consistent proposal during a crucial meeting in late June. But both the TRT and Democrats showed no signs of anxiety by announcing that they were preparing to select candidates for the next general elections.

    It remains unclear whether the high court will combine the five cases or conduct separate reviews. But a source close to the court told Xinhua that it may take long for the court to make a decision.

    "No less than three months, for the court's final judgment," the source said. "But it should be completed within a year."

    Anyway, should the court rule any party be dissolved, its leaders would be barred from serving as executives in any other party for five years, but they may become ordinary members of other political parties and could even be appointed as cabinet ministers or the prime minister once the polling finished.

    This means that Thaksin Shinawatra, head of the Thai Rak Thai party, and Abhisit Vejjajiva, head of the Democrats, will still be eligible to contest the next election under a different party banner even if their parties have been dissolved.

    Both parties will also be permitted to register new parties the day after their dissolution is announced, and can even register new parties with their original names.

    "The Party Law [of Thailand] never bans us from calling the new party as the 'Democrat Party'," Surin Pitsuwan, deputy leader of the Democrats, told foreign journalists at party headquarters early this month, adding that they will register a new "Democrat Party."

    "I think the Thai Rak Thai too will do so," Surin said. Enditem