Thai court orders Thai Rak Thai party to dissolve

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Source: CCTV.com | 05-31-2007 08:05

Supporters of Thailand's Democrate Party celebrate the court decision at the party's headquarters in Bangkok.(AFP)

Thailand's Constitutional Tribunal has ruled that the Thai Rak Thai party must dissolve. The tribunal says the country's biggest and former ruling party is guilty of election fraud.

The judges say all members of the executive committee of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai party have been disbanded and the party banned from politics for five years.

The ruling follows a guilty verdict against the party for financing obscure parties to run against it in last year's elections. This in order to get around rules requiring a minimum voter turnout.

The lengthy verdict said the TRT is guilty of misconduct in breaking election laws and undermining national stability and democratic standards, warranting the party's dissolution.

After the verdict, TRT acting leader Chaturon Chaisaeng called on party members and supporters to keep calm and united. And he described the verdict as "unfair and unacceptable."

Chaturon Chaisaeng said, "We have a difference of opinion, but we will not protest, we will not oppose the verdict. We'll try to help calm down people and we believe that we can provide, that we can find a solution, a political solution for the Thai people."

Nearly 300 former MPs, executives and senior members of the TRT earlier signed an agreement declaring they would continue to work together if the party was dissolved.

The ruling came on the same day that the tribunal declared the Democrat Party innocent of all electoral fraud charges against it.

The banning of Thai Rak Thai is a stunning end to a party that just two years ago was the most powerful in Thailand.