[QODLink]
Asia-Pacific
Thai parties await election ruling
Supreme court verdict could see winning party disbanded for poll violations.
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2008 10:39 GMT
The PPP won the most seats in last month's
elections but fell short of a majority [EPA]

Thailand's supreme court is set to rule on Friday whether the winning party in last month's parliamentary polls violated election laws, as the party prepares to formally announce a coalition government.

A verdict that goes against the People Power Party (PPP) could result in the party being disbanded, effectively nullifying the election results as a whole and pitching the country into political crisis.

The PPP won the most number of seats in December's elections, securing 233 of the 480 seats in parliament, although several of its winning candidates were later disqualified.

 

If the court rules against the PPP, the party would have to halt all political activities while the case is forwarded to Thailand's constitutional court, which would decide whether to dissolve the party.

 

Even if the party is found guilty any of several charges, the case would still be considered by several other bodies until the higher court ruled whether it had to be dissolved.

 

On Thursday the PPP's secretary-general said the party planned to formally announce a six-party coalition government on Saturday after a meeting to discuss policies and the makeup of the cabinet.

 

"We believe we will get fair treatment in court, especially after giving our statements and evidence to counter the case," Surapong Suebwonglee told reporters.

 

"Our priority is to restore confidence of investors and create an atmosphere of stability," he said, adding the party planned to propose  Samak Sundaravej, the leaders of the PPP, as the future prime minister.

 

Violations

 

Allegations of election violations arose after Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed prime minister, was seen in PPP campaign videos despite being banned from Thai politics.

 

Al Jazeera's Selina Downes, reporting from Bangkok, said the PPP has been openly supporting Thaksin, taking over the old offices of his disbanded Thai Rak Thai party and using the same logo.

 

"Just about everything suggests it's Thai Rak Thai all over again," she said.

 

The Democrat Party, favoured by the Thai military, has accused the PPP of being a front for Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party which was dissolved by court order for electoral fraud.

 

But despite coming in second in the polls, Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Democrat's leader, said the court should not overturn the election results.

 

"I don't think the election should be disqualified. The people did their job voting," he told a press conference on Thursday.

Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
Topics in this article
Organisation
Featured on Al Jazeera
An unflinching portrait of physical labour in the 21st century.
The stark choice between a fascist or an imperialist course in Syria should be discarded for a third and better course.
Israel's propaganda machine carefully chooses its words to assert illegal ownership over Jerusalem and Palestine.
As Western fears grow over Iran's continuing nuclear programme, we ask how a military strike could impact the region.
<  > 
join our mailing list

Enter Zip Code
Go