The alleged bribery was supposedly to help Thai Rak Thai get around the electoral requirement that candidates win at least 20 per cent of the vote in constituencies where they run unopposed, in order to secure seats in the House of Representatives. Suthep was building his case around photographic evidence and the failure by the commissioners to take action against Thai Rak Thai, as recommended by the Election Commission (EC) subcommittee investigating the electoral-fraud allegation.

The sensational disclosure obviously turned up the heat on EC members Vasana Puemlarp, Prinya Nakchudtree and Virachai Naewboonnien, who have been accused of incompetence and bias in favour of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai Party. But the photographic evidence produced by Suthep was especially damaging to Thamarak, who has yet to respond publicly.

Thaksin and Thai Rak Thai have tried to distance themselves from Thamarak. They say the deputy party leader must explain to the public whether a meeting between him and a senior member of an obscure political party actually took place on March 3 at the Defence Ministry, as claimed by Suthep and supposedly corroborated by photographic evidence. But since Thamarak is a deputy Thai Rak Thai leader, Thaksin and the party's executive committee will find it difficult to avoid sharing the blame if Thamarak is proven to have committed such serious electoral fraud.

The EC subcommittee investigating Suthep's allegation against Thai Rak Thai said the evidence earlier submitted by Suthep - minus the photographic evidence - was serious enough to warrant the commission considering a formal investigation into the alleged use of parties-for-hire to gain an unfair advantage in the April 2 election.

The severity of the matter is such that if Thamarak is found guilty of electoral fraud, and it is proved he was committing the wrongdoing on behalf of the party, the EC will be required to ask the Constitution Court to consider dissolving the party.

Earlier, Thamarak denied he had ever met with Chavakarn Tosawat, a member of the Pattana Chart Thai Party's executive committee, or any of his colleagues. He also rejected the accusation made by Suthep that he had paid the politicians or the Pattana Chart Thai Party to contest the April 2 election. The court has yet to decide whether the photos submitted by Suthep as evidence were authentic or admissible, but forgery can easily be proven by digital-imaging experts.

On the other hand, the documentary evidence shown to the court by Suthep was equally damning to the EC. Suthep says the 18-person EC subcommittee headed by former Supreme Court senior judge Nam Yimyaem presented its findings to the EC, saying there was sufficient evidence to initiate a formal investigation against Thai Rak Thai for allegedly hiring obscure parties to contest the April 2 election. The subcommittee report and recommendation leant credence to Suthep's allegation but has since been ignored by the EC.

The three remaining election commissioners have so far resisted calls by top judges from the Constitution, Supreme and Supreme Administrative courts to vacate their positions for alleged failure to discharge their duties in a straightforward manner. This has compromised the EC's credibility to the point where it can no longer be trusted to be the guarantor of a free and fair election.

The Criminal Court proceedings will determine the commissioners' fitness to perform this important duty in the new election scheduled for October 15. If the election commissioners are found guilty of dereliction of duty, a new EC could be appointed to replace them.