Tribunal to rule next week on dissolution of parties
The Constitution Tribunal is likely to make a ruling next Tuesday on whether to dissolve the country's two largest political parties, its secretary-general Paiboon Warahapaitoon said yesterday.
Paiboon said the judges would consider the cases involving the Thai Rak Thai and Democrat parties at the meeting. Thai Rak Thai is accused of bankrolling minor parties to contest the April 2 general election so that it could avoid the 20 per cent minimum vote requirement needed by unchallenged candidates. The Democrats are accused of having asked for a royal appointment of a non-elected prime minister and having presented false witnesses to accuse Thai Rak Thai of electoral fraud. These allegations are covered by Article 66 of the Political Party Act, which states that any party acting to overthrow the country's democratic system should face dissolution by the Constitution Court. The Office of the Attorney-General has petitioned for the two parties to be dissolved and separately, the Political Party Registrar has asked for the Thai Rak Thai to be disbanded. Paiboon, speaking after a meeting of the court's judges yesterday, said they still had to hear 31 petitions, which had been received before the September 19 coup. He said the judges yesterday began considering the petitions regarding the three minor parties linked to the cases. They are the Progressive Democratic, Pattana Chart Thai and Thai Ground parties. "The judges have read written explanations from the accused parties. But the Pattana Chart Thai Party has not yet submitted its defence statement to the court," said Paiboon. Suphon Thanukrit The Nation
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