Democrats to learn fate on May 30

Tribunal will rule in party dissolution case

Manop Thip-Osod

The Democrat party will find out its fate on May 30 when the Constitution Tribunal hands down its verdict in the party dissolution case.

Paiboon Warahapaithoon, tribunal secretary-general, said the ruling will be handed down at 1.30pm on May 30.

The party is accused by the attorney-general of obstructing the constitutional monarchy and threatening national security by hiring a little-known political party, Prachathipatai Kao Na, to smear Thai Rak Thai in the lead-up to last year's April 2 polls, which were later annulled.

The case was lodged last July and altogether 12 hearings have been held from Jan 4 this year. Seven hearings were for the testimonies of the attorney-general's 32 witnesses and five hearings for the Democrats' 27 witnesses.

Yesterday's hearing was the last in which witnesses from the party said the Democrats did not make false claims against Thai Rak Thai, or obstruct any candidate from a small political party from running in a by-election in Songkhla province following the polls.

The witnesses included former Democrat MP for Songkhla Wirat Kalayasiri, former Democrat list MP Trairong Suwannakhiri, and some former election officials who supervised the by-election in Songkhla.

Mr Wirat and Mr Trairong denied involvement in any protest against a small party candidate's application to run in the by-election in the southern province. Mr Wirat said he had turned up at the Office of the Election Commission on April 9 last year only to complain against the election outcome of Songkhla's Constituency 5.

Narong Sukchan, assistant chief of Songkhla's Rattaphum district, who worked for the Election Commission in Songkhla, said no candidates had been blocked from applying to take part in the election though there had been a gathering of opponents in the southern province.

He said no Democrat members were present at the gathering.

Col Sutham Wannatung, former election chief of Songkhla, also told the tribunal he did not see any Democrats there.

The tribunal ordered the Democrat and Prachathipatai Kao Na parties to file their written closing statements by April 25. The tribunal will then discuss the case before it reaches a verdict.

The attorney-general also accused the Thai Rak Thai party of bankrolling small parties, namely Pattana Chart Thai and Phaendin Thai, into running in last year's April 2 elections. There will be two more hearings for this case.

Mr Paiboon said the tribunal has yet to decide if the verdicts for both cases could be announced on the same day.

Bangkok Post

Friday April 06, 2007