Prasert Sutthison, the EC’s public relations director, rebuts criticism of the agency at a press conference yesterday.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and critics yesterday blamed the Election Commission (EC) for failing to indicate if the Thai Rak Thai Party had violated the law and if it should be dissolved when it passed on the evidence to the OAG.

EC chairman Vasana Puemlarp insisted that the EC had followed the law and had done nothing wrong as alleged.

OAG spokesman Atthaphol Yaisawang said the EC had treated the case involving the ruling party differently from the one in which two small parties were dissolved, allegedly for being hired to field candidates for the April polls.

The EC gave reasons to support its decisions to dissolve Pattana Chat Thai and Thai Ground parties, he said.

On May 8, an EC panel chaired by former Supreme Court judge Nam Yimyaem found that two Thai Rak Thai leaders Thammarak Isarangura and Pongsak Raktapongpisal, conspired on behalf of the ruling party to falsify membership records to overcome the 90-day rule.

On Tuesday, the embattled EC handed over all legal documents and evidence against the Thai Rak Thai from the Nam Yimyaem investigation to the OAG.

Attorney-General Pachara Yuthithamdamrong raised doubts as to why the EC had not pointed out the guilt of the ruling party.

"It should not just give us evidence," he said.

The EC report said that Thaksin Shinawatra, as the Thai Rak Thai leader should becharged as the person responsible for the party's actions.

Chaikasem Nithisiri, deputy chief of the OAG, has been appointed to chair a committee that will examine the legal documents and other evidence from the EC.

The panel will today conclude whether to ask the EC for its conclusion of the case or begin its own examination process before passing it to the auditor-general for a final decision.

Meanwhile, Vasana said he believed he was following the law by not indicating whether the ruling party had violated the law and if it should be dissolved.

"How can I conclude the case?" he said. "If I do, they [the OAG] will say it is not my business."

Prasert Sutthison, the EC's public relations director, said the law on political parties did not require the EC to indicate the guilt of the alleged party. It was only required to pass the evidence to the OAG to consider if the party should be dissolved, he said.

The OAG will ask the Constitution Court to dissolve the party, if it is found guilty of wrongdoing, according to the charter.

Prasert rejected an allegation that the EC had supported the decision to dissolve the two small parties in the report to the OAG.

"We have never indicated their guilt," he said. "We only passed on legal documents and evidence to the OAG."

Caretaker deputy PM Wissanu Krua-ngam said the EC had made a weird case by not giving their views over the investigation in the report.

"If they do not want to rule on the case, they should not have wasted their time investigating it," he added.

Caretaker senator Sak Korsaengruang said EC chairman Vasana, in his capacity as chief registrar of political parties, had full authority to decide whether to propose the dissolution of a political party. "But Vasana refused to use his power, so he apparently has failed to do his duty," he said.

In the meantime, an OAG panel had been considering an appeal filed by politician Surapong Towijakchaikul, seeking the dissolution of the Democrat Party, Atthaphol said.

The appeal claimed the Democrats illegally invoked Article 7 of the Constitution to ask for a "royally-sponsored prime minister" to replace caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, which is an offence punishable by party dissolution.

Atthayuth Butrsripoom,

Kesinee Taengkhieo

The Nation