Thai government supporters hold a rally to protest against Thai Constitution Court's order to dissolve the three ruling parties, in front of the Bangkok Intermediate Administrative Court in Bangkok Dec. 2, 2008. Thailand's Constitution Court on Tuesday ruled that the three ruling parties, People Power Party, Chart Thai Party and Matchima Thipataya Party, were guilty of electoral fraud charges and ordered dissolution of them.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
BANGKOK, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Constitution
Court on Tuesday ruled the three ruling parties in the coalition government--
People Power Party (PPP), Chart Thai Party and Matchima Thipataya Party were
guilty of electoral fraud charges and ordered them to be dissolved.
All the three party's executives were banned from
politics for five years as punishment in line with the 2007 Constitution.
The Constitution Court began to read the verdicts
against the three parties on electoral fraud charges at around 12:20 p.m.
(0520GMT) Tuesday after hearing the closing statements from both the prosecutors
and the defendants in the morning.
The verdicts reading process took only some 40
minutes to complete, unexpectedly much swifter than the Court did in May last
year to the former ruling Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party following the Sept. 19, 2006
coup that ousted then premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The TRT was disbanded on electoral fraud charges and
its 111 executives including founder Thaksin Shinawatra were banned from
politics for five years.
The PPP, which is seen by opponents as a
reincarnation of the TRT, did not attend Tuesday's summation session, protesting
that the judges were biased against the government.
Anti-government protesters led by the People's
Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who had occupied the Government House for three
months and lately besieged and shut down two airports in Bangkok in a showdown
to topple the government, hailed as the Court handed down the verdicts.
As a result of the verdict, Prime Minister Somchai
Wongsawat, who is acting leader of PPP, will lose his premiership according to
the Constitution. The whole cabinet must go with him. A deputy prime minister,
who is not a party executive, could be appointed to succeed Somchai to lead the
caretaker cabinet.
On July 8, the Supreme Court ruled that former House
speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat, former deputy PPP leader, was found guilty of
vote-buying during last Dec. 23 general election, which saw PPP win most votes,
and banned him from engaging in politics for five years.
Under Thailand's Election Law under the 2007
Constitution, if any executive member of a political party committed electoral
fraud, the party could be dissolved and its executive committee will be banned
from engaging in political activities for five years.
BANGKOK, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of pro-government
demonstrators Tuesday arrived and held rally at the Supreme Administrative
Court, in an attempt to block judges from chairing over the last session of the
party-dissolution case against the People Power Party and two other parties.
About 150 anti-riot policemen have been deployed
after the Constitution Court has decided to relocate its session to the Supreme
Administrative Court. The high court is expected to convene the session in the
morning. Full story
