Thai court agrees to hear cases to void April poll

By Trirat Puttajanyawong

BANGKOK (Reuters) – A Thai court agreed on Monday to hear a
petition to annul inconclusive April 2 general elections which
left parliament unable to meet to choose a new prime minister
and set off a major constitutional crisis.

But nearly a week after influential King Bhumibol Adulyadej
summoned top judges to tell them it was their job to sort out
the mess, there was no firm word on when a decision might be
reached.

“The Constitutional Court agreed unanimously to hear the
request,” secretary-general Paiboon Varahapaitoon told
reporters after a meeting of the 14-judge panel.

“I can guarantee that it won’t be long,” Paiboon said when
asked when the court would rule on a case alleging the polls
were tainted by fraud and that the Election Commission and
candidates had committed irregularities.

Paiboon said the Election Commission would be given three
days to submit its defense to the suit filed by law lecturers
and a civic group.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called the elections to
demonstrate his popularity in the countryside to Bangkok’s
middle classes who had taken to the streets in their thousands
to accuse him of corruption and abuse of power.

However, Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party
won fewer votes than in the previous election in February last
year. Moreover, the main opposition boycotted the ballot.

That meant many constituencies failed to provide the vote
necessary for a parliamentary mandate. With seats unfilled,
parliament could not be convened within the 30-day deadline of
an election set by the constitution.

THAKSIN’S PLEDGE

The Administrative Court, which rules on the legality of
government actions, dashed any hopes of meeting the deadline
when it halted weekend election reruns in 14 constituencies.

The court said cases it would hear soon might lead it to
declare the April 2 election unlawful. Therefore the reruns —
a third attempt to fill the seats — would be pointless.

Thailand’s chief judges met on Friday after unusually
strong words from the constitutional monarch broadcast on
national television.

The substantial number of abstentions, effectively a vote
against Thaksin, who denied the charges against him, prompted
him to say he would not be a candidate for prime minister when
parliament did meet.

But Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya said on
Sunday that if the courts nullified the April 2 result, as
analysts say looks increasingly likely, Thaksin would not have
to stick to his pledge.