EC chairman Vasana Puemlarp has been accused, along with three other EC members, of abuse of power to help the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party win the April 2 poll.

Despite their defiant stance regarding calls for their resignation, the final countdown for the remaining election commissioners has begun, with the three top courts making it clear they have run out of patience.

The Criminal Court rejected the Election Commission (EC) members' appeals on Monday to delay the hearing of two lawsuits accusing them of plotting with the government of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The suits filed by Suthep Thaugsuban, the Democrat Party secretary-general, and his deputy Tavorn Senniam, accuse the four EC members of abuse of power, malfeasance and forgery of official documents to help the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party win the April 2 election.

In response to Suthep's lawsuits, the EC delegates sought postponement of the trial, saying they need until August 28 to prepare their defence. The court, however, said a swift hearing was necessary because it was "vital" for democratic rule in Thailand.

Suthep accuses the EC of protecting Thai Rak Thai by not taking action after the party was allegedly found to have hired small parties to stand as candidates in the April 23 second round of elections.

Tavorn also accuses the EC of malfeasance for inviting candidates to take part in the second round. He claims the EC ordered its staff in 38 constituencies across 15 provinces to allow candidates from other constituencies to stand in the elections, despite those candidates having been registered elsewhere for the April 2 poll.

He says this move contradicts a previous EC resolution that a candidate may only run in one constituency.

The EC sought to postpone the hearing, saying the EC members had not compiled the relevant documents for their defence as they were tied up with election-related tasks.

But the Criminal Court rejected the appeal, saying they had already had over a month to gather the documents from their office.

The failed attempts of the EC to postpone the cases followed an "ultimatum" from Charan Phakdi-thanakul, the Supreme Court's secretary-general acting as the spokesman for the Supreme, Administrative and Constitution courts, in which he said he wanted the three remaining EC members to quit.

He said they were responsible for causing grave damage to the country as the way they had managed the April 2 election had been ruled illegal and invalid by the Constitution Court.

"If they don't make a decision or decide to delay it, the damage will spread and in the future the EC will suffer from this damage too," Charan said after a meeting of the top judges from the three courts on May 16.

In addition to the EC's failed appeals, the Criminal Court yesterday agreed to take Tavorn's case to trial. It called upon the three remaining commissioners to report to acknowledge the charge within three days in order to speed up the hearing.

The move shows that the courts are serious about the ultimatum, which could lead to the EC members spending time in prison if found guilty.

The three top courts have been putting pressure on the EC since their intervention at the end of last month.

They urged the EC members to resign to pave the way for the selection of a new board of EC commissioners, to allow the courts to "help" the EC hold a new election.

However, instead of stepping down, the EC members have turned a blind eye to the call. Moreover, EC chairman Vasana Puemlarp has directly challenged the courts' authority by saying nobody can tell him what to do.

The courts have therefore decided to play their last card today. And as they get more serious about their campaign, the embattled EC members may end up facing prison terms.

 Somroutai Sapsomboon

 The Nation