BYE-BYE THAI RAK THAI

Constitution Tribunal dissolves Thaksin's party / Ousted PM, 110 executive members banned for five years / Democrat party survives, cleared of all charges

POST REPORTERS
People who seize power dictate right or wrong ... even though that power came from the end of gun barrel.’ - CHATURON CHAISAENG, THAI RAK THAI PARTY ACTING LEADER
‘We must turn the party’s victory into the country’s victory.’- ABHISIT VEJJAJIVA, DEMOCRAT PARTY LEADER
Thai Rak Thai was ordered disbanded by the Constitution Tribunal and its 111 party executives banned, including deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, from politics for five years for engaging in electoral fraud.
The tribunal read out the verdict shortly before midnight, almost six hours after their rival Democrats survived similar charges.
The tribunal found Thai Rak Thai guilty of paying unknown parties to contest the April 2, 2006 polls to avoid a requirement that a candidate standing unchallenged in a constituency must receive at least 20% of the eligible votes to win the seat, and by altering their membership registrations in the Election Commission's database.
The tribunal also found the Pattana Chart Thai and Paendin Thai parties guilty of electoral fraud and stripped the election rights of their executives _ 19 and three, respectively.
The tribunal said Thai Rak Thai's offences had undermined the constitutional monarchy and threatened national security.
''The acts by the Thai Rak Thai party are considered extremely dangerous to the country. The party existed not for the well-being of the people but to strive for political power,'' read the verdict.
Acting Thai Rak Thai party leader Chaturon Chaisaeng said the verdict caught him by surprise. He told party supporters he would work out a political solution. He also voiced concerns about the country's democratic development.
The verdict to dissolve Thai Rak Thai was unanimous, said Supreme Court president Panya Thanomrod, also president of the nine-member Constitution Tribunal.
Mr Chaturon told his party supporters they should help each other wipe the tears off their faces.
He said the outcome of the trial was unexpected and it was unfair for the party. The verdict was based on the concept of might is right.
''The people who seize power dictate right or wrong in society even though that power came from the end of a gun barrel,'' he told the party's supporters.
Mr Chaturon said people across the country found the verdict unacceptable. Today, the banned executives have even less rights than other people because they cannot even cast their votes in elections.
At shortly before six, the nine-judge tribunal, had cleared the Democrat party of four counts of electoral fraud. The tribunal spent almost five hours reading out an 88-page report on the cases against the Democrat and the Prachathipatai Kao Na parties.
The tribunal cleared the Democrats of all four charges _ attempting to topple the Thaksin government and undermining democracy by urging voters to ''vote no vote'' in the April 2 election; hiring individuals to run under the Prachathipatai Kao Na banner to discredit Thai Rak Thai; obstructing elections in Songkhla; and hiring the Cheewit Tee Dee Kwa party to undermine Thai Rak Thai.
But the tribunal ordered the Prachathipathai Kao Na party disbanded for violating the 90-day party membership rule. Nine of the party's executives were banned from politics for five years, even though the nine had already resigned their posts.
The tribunal said announcement No 27 issued by the Council for Democratic Reform (CDR) _ calling for such a penalty _ could be applied retroactively in this case because there were no criminal implications.
Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva thanked his party supporters and urged authorities to hold elections as soon as possible.
''Now that the trial is over, I'd like to call on the authorities concerned to hold elections as soon as possible,'' he said.
Thammarak: Guilty of electoral fraud
Pongsak: Illegally paid small parties
''The party would like to take this opportunity to work constructively for the country and the people. We must turn the party's victory into the country's victory.''
Ex-Democrat leader Chuan Leekpai, who led the Democrat's legal team, said the verdict was thorough and fair.
''I was elated when the court threw out [the case]. We worked really hard,'' he said.
About two hours before pronouncing the verdict on Thai Rak Thai, the tribunal had ruled that former defence minister Thammarak Isarangkura na Ayudhaya and former transport minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal had illegally paid several small parties to participate in a general election last year so that minimum turnout rules were met.
Cheers of joy from Democrat supporters rippled through the room as the verdict reached its conclusion. Across the room, Mr Chaturon looked grim as the judges left for a brief recess.
Before the reading began yesterday, Mr Panya emphasised that the verdicts were impartial and fair and that they were based on facts and the law.
Mr Panya, also the Supreme Court president, called on the public to respect rules and laws to ensure peace and order.
The ruling was handed down amid tight security in and around the Constitution Court. Schools around the court on Chakkrapet road were closed to ensure safety.
Some 13,000 troops were on standby across the country as the government said it was prepared to impose a state of emergency in case of violence erupting following the tribunal's verdicts.
A campaigner from the PTV station holds up a model of the charter in front of the Constitution Court. — SOMCHAI POOMLARD
Mr Suthep said he received phone calls from Chart Thai leader Banharn Silpa-archa, Thai Rak Thai defector Sanoh Thienthong and other political groups who congratulated the party on its acquittal.
Mr Banharn yesterday congratulated the Democrat party for the triumph.
''I am happy for them. They have done their homework and rebutted all the charges,'' said Mr Banharn, who watched the verdicts from his party's headquarters.
Matchima group leader Somsak Thepsuthin said yesterday the political future looked bright for the Democrat party now that it had been cleared of the charges.
''It seems to me the party will be on the upswing. And if there is no other party, I guess the Democrats will get all the votes at the polls,'' he said.
National Legislative Assembly member Sophon Suphapong also hailed the verdict as ''thorough'', saying it gave assurances the judiciary could be counted on.

Credit : www.bangkokpost.com