Samak warns poll in offing

The Nation

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej warned yesterday that House dissolution would become inevitable if the three coalition parties were disbanded for electoral fraud.

Speaking in his weekly "Talking Samak Style" programme, the premier rejected the allegation that the coalition parties were attempting to amend the Constitution for their own interest.

"Frankly speaking, there is a reason why we must think of amendments. There is a concern the parties will be dissolved," Samak said.

"We are not thinking of ourselves. We see that if the parties are dissolved, there will be a House dissolution. The coalition government can no longer stay on. There will have to be a new general election," he said.

Samak said that with 316 MPs under its control, as well as additional support from senators, the coalition government is highly likely to succeed in amending the charter.

The Election Commission recently resolved to seek a Constitution-Court ruling whether to dissolve the coalition Chart Thai and Matchima Thipataya parties for alleged involvement of their executives in electoral fraud.

The People Power Party, the main coalition partner, is also likely to face the same fate as its deputy leader Yongyuth Tiyapairat has been accused by the EC of electoral fraud. The EC has sought a Supreme-Court ruling whether to endorse its disqualification of Yongyuth as an MP.

Samak said that if enacted, the charter rewrite would not benefit the PPP because the electoral fraud case, which could lead to punishment by disbandment, has already been under the judicial review of the Supreme Court.

The PPP leader said he placed his hope on the Supreme Court for launching an extensive trial that would establish that Yongyuth was in fact framed.

Although the ruling party remains confident that it will not be disbanded, the charter amendments will be in place to bring about the next general election in case the three coalition parties were punished by disbandment, he said.

The premier yesterday also dismissed speculation that the constitutional changes were designed to help coalition parties evade disbandment.

"The rewrite of Article 237 is for the future and necessary so that there will be no more party dissolution," he said.

He said the existing charter provisions were written with bias against political parties and the leadership of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.