The Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) will on Monday ask the Constitution Court to dissolve the Kingdom's two main political parties: Thai Rak Thai and Democrat.

As the whole country desperately needs a new and stable government to restore peace, the dissolution holds no promise of a bright future. Instead, it could spark further tension and finally delay the October 15 election.

The Constitution Court will have to rule whether the two heavyweights, along with three minor parties, should be erased from the Election Commission's register.

And the court inevitably becomes the last resort for the case, although it appears unwilling to carry out the task.

The two parties filed complaints against the EC accusing each other of attempting to topple democracy. However, the problem is that the EC members appear to have lost their legitimacy to stay in their jobs since the Administrative Court scrapped the April 2 poll, claiming it was managed illegally.

An EC investigative panel recently concluded that Thai Rak Thai executives Thamarak Isarangura and Pongsak Ruktapongpisal were guilty of hiring minor parties to run in the April elections.

But the three remaining EC members, allegedly siding with the ruling party, lacked the nerve to handle the case themselves while calls for their resignation were reaching a frenzy.

Under pressure from anti-government groups, they decided to forward the panel's report to save their seats and avoid the glare of more publicity.

The charges against the Democrats, which accuse party secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban of hiring minor parties to frame the government, was given similar treatment and sent up to the next level.

So these explosive cases were dumped on the OAG. Its prosecution committee approved the EC's resolution after a few days and will hand the case over to the Constitution Court.

As the government plans to submit a Royal Decree to approve the October 15 poll by August 16, the court has to ensure it has come to a verdict before that date. If the court deliberates for a prolonged period, the election date will be forced back as the government will surely not submit the Royal Decree while the wheels of justice are still turning.

In the worst-case scenario there will be scenes of mob rule engulfing the court when it comes to its verdict, as happened in mid-2001 when caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra received the ruling in his asset concealment case.

A Constitution Court judge imagined a scene in which the court's headquarters were burned down by thousands of Thaksin supporters after the premier had been found guilty.

One can imagine that thousands of the two parties' supporters will besiege the court to challenge the judge to dissolve their party.

It is believed that a peaceful outcome could be a guilty verdict for Thamarak, Pongsak and Suthep for their alleged crimes, while the two parties are left intact. The three could be found guilty of conducting the crimes without their parties' consent. There seems to be intense pressure on the courts to deliver these two "wise verdicts".

Weerayut Chokchaimadon

 The Nation