EC chairman Vasana Puemlarp and his two colleagues, Prinya Nakchudtree and Virachai Naewboonnien, will fight charges relating to their decision to allow additional candidates to contest the repeat vote on April 23.

The repeat balloting was organised after lone candidates from the Thai Rak Thai Party failed to muster the 20 per cent support from eligible voters in the first round of voting on April 2. The additional candidate helped to overcome the 20 per cent rule.

As plaintiff, Democrat Party deputy secretarygeneral Thaworn Senniam contends that the three EC members committed malfeasance for making the arbitrary decision to favour the ruling party.

He also accused them of violating the election law by permitting defeated candidates in the April 2 vote to switch constituencies for the repeat votes.

On Monday, the three EC members are expected to be tried on the case raised by Thaworn as well as attend a bail hearing for a separate criminal litigation filed by Democrat secretarygeneral Suthep Thuagsuban.

Suthep has opposed bail for the three facing charges relating to the alleged negligence to promptly investigate the funding of small parties to contest the April 2 vote.

For another criminal case against the three EC members, the court scheduled to rule today whether to launch a judicial review on charges relating to the EC's failure to ensure fair balloting.

A group of nine senators and activists initiated litigation seeking criminal culpability for the botched April 2 vote.

The Nation