BANGKOK, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Election Commission (EC) was optimistic the first meeting of the House of Representatives would be held as stipulated by the Constitution, said EC secretary-general Suthipol Thaweechaikarn Sunday.

    After EC meeting on Sunday, Suthipol told journalists the EC planned to discuss Monday the endorsing of additional four or five winning candidates in the Dec. 23 general election, Thai News Agency reported.

    He also expressed confidence the EC would be able to endorse at east 95 percent of the total 480 members of parliament, which would be sufficient for the first session of the House of Representatives to take place.

    According to the Constitution, the first session must be held within 30 days after a general election, with a minimum of 95 percent of elected MPs attending the first session.

    Suthipol's assurance was made following Sunday's issuance of a "yellow card" to a winning elected MP in the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum who was a member of the People Power Party (PPP), on charges of handing out VCDs containing a speech by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as well as money to eligible voters.

    The PPP is seen in Thailand as the new banner for Thaksin and his allies after the Thaksin-founded former ruling party Thai Rak Thai was disbanded on electoral fraud charges last May, months after a military coup ousted the Thaksin government.

    It won 233 seats as announced in official results after the Dec. 23 election, most from the North and Northeast, the strong base for the former Thai Rak Thai party. But the EC later issued four red cards for elected PPP MPs on vote-buying accusation, bringing down the PPP seats to 229.

    "Yellow cards" and "red cards" are indicators certifying disqualification of elected candidates accused of involvement in electoral cheating and misconduct.

    According to EC regulations, elected candidates given yellow cards could re-run in a by-election to get the seat, while those who receives a red card will lose the seat, and be banned from contesting in an election, or by-election for a year.

    On Sunday, the EC organized the first-round by-election in Constituency 3 of Nakhon Ratchasima, where three elected MPs, all belonging to the PPP, received yellow cards on alleged vote-buying during the run-up to the Dec. 23 general election.

    The results is expected to come out later Sunday.

    A by-election in Chaiyaphum's Constituency 2 would be held on Jan. 17, said Suthipol.

    The EC also agreed to issue yellow cards to two winning candidates of the Puea Pandin (For the Motherland) Party in Nakhon Ratchasima's Constituency 6, on charges of giving promises of money to eligible voters during the run-up to the Dec. 23 general election, said Suthipol, adding that the date for the by-election in the constituency was yet to be decided on.