Embattled Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is now staring at a possible five-year ban from politics after the Election Commission voted yesterday to seek dissolution of his Democrat Party in connection with two financial controversies.
The Attorney-General's Office is required to decide within 30 days whether to forward the cases to the Constitution Court, which could hit Abhisit and other Democrat executives with a five-year ban if found guilty.
Thousands of red-shirted protesters erupted in loud cheers and long applause on learning the news, but their leaders later shifted from victorious statements to caution.
The leaders told the big crowd at the Rajprasong intersection that the cases had a long way to go and it would be a mistake to assume the movement had achieved victory and that everyone could go home.
The EC voted 4:1 to request a Constitution Court order to dissolve the Democrat Party for unlawfully receiving Bt258 million in donations from TPI Polene in 2005.
Another case involved alleged misuse by the Democrat Party of a Bt29-million government subsidy. The EC voted 5-0 to seek dissolution in this case.
It was reported that Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban had known of the EC's decision one day in advance. The decision, however, triggered wild speculation as Abhisit was already facing political pressure left and right to dissolve the House of Representatives.
The EC had been widely expected to announce its decision on April 20. Yesterday's development, therefore, prompted speculation about a conspiracy to add to the pressure on Abhisit.
Other speculation, though, involved an opposing theory that the EC's announcement was intended to cool down the political temperature and make it easier for the red shirts to suspend their rally.
The whole process will take months. The Constitution Court will have to consider whether TPI Polene illegally siphoned the Bt258 million from the Financial Institutions Development Fund, as the company was still in rehabilitation at the time. If so, the then CEO of TPI, Prachai Leophairatana, would be subject to legal action for violating the Securities and Exchange Act of 1992.
If the money is considered an unlawful donation, and the Democrat Party has used it, the party could be disbanded for violating the Political Party Act. A dissolution verdict will almost automatically lead to a five-year ban for Abhisit, who signed financial documents concerning the donations after he succeeded Banyat Bantadtan as Democrat Party leader.
The laws give a narrow escape route from a five-year ban for party executives if it can be established that they were not aware of the offences that led to a dissolution order.
Democrat politicians have insisted the alleged donation never took place. They said money was given to relatives of some party colleagues as part of business dealing, but that the party had never obtained it.
A five-year ban on Abhisit, if it happened - and happened soon enough - would create a serious political vacuum, as most leading politicians in Thailand are still serving bans from party dissolutions in 2007 and 2008.
And if other Democrat executives join Abhisit in five-year oblivion, the only charismatic figure left will be former party leader and ex-prime minister Chuan Leekpai.
The minority vote in the TPI Polene case belonged to EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond, who was the main target of the red shirts when they besieged the EC headquarters last week because of his alleged ties with the Democrats.
Apichart's lone vote could prove crucial, Democrat legal experts say, because he is also the political party registrar, who holds decisive power when it comes to issues that do not receive unanimous agreement among the commissioners.
A key player in the donation controversy is obscure advertising firm Messiah, hired to produce campaign materials for the Democrats.
The Attorney-General's Office is required to decide within 30 days whether to forward the cases to the Constitution Court, which could hit Abhisit and other Democrat executives with a five-year ban if found guilty.
Thousands of red-shirted protesters erupted in loud cheers and long applause on learning the news, but their leaders later shifted from victorious statements to caution.
The leaders told the big crowd at the Rajprasong intersection that the cases had a long way to go and it would be a mistake to assume the movement had achieved victory and that everyone could go home.
The EC voted 4:1 to request a Constitution Court order to dissolve the Democrat Party for unlawfully receiving Bt258 million in donations from TPI Polene in 2005.
Another case involved alleged misuse by the Democrat Party of a Bt29-million government subsidy. The EC voted 5-0 to seek dissolution in this case.
It was reported that Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban had known of the EC's decision one day in advance. The decision, however, triggered wild speculation as Abhisit was already facing political pressure left and right to dissolve the House of Representatives.
The EC had been widely expected to announce its decision on April 20. Yesterday's development, therefore, prompted speculation about a conspiracy to add to the pressure on Abhisit.
Other speculation, though, involved an opposing theory that the EC's announcement was intended to cool down the political temperature and make it easier for the red shirts to suspend their rally.
The whole process will take months. The Constitution Court will have to consider whether TPI Polene illegally siphoned the Bt258 million from the Financial Institutions Development Fund, as the company was still in rehabilitation at the time. If so, the then CEO of TPI, Prachai Leophairatana, would be subject to legal action for violating the Securities and Exchange Act of 1992.
If the money is considered an unlawful donation, and the Democrat Party has used it, the party could be disbanded for violating the Political Party Act. A dissolution verdict will almost automatically lead to a five-year ban for Abhisit, who signed financial documents concerning the donations after he succeeded Banyat Bantadtan as Democrat Party leader.
The laws give a narrow escape route from a five-year ban for party executives if it can be established that they were not aware of the offences that led to a dissolution order.
Democrat politicians have insisted the alleged donation never took place. They said money was given to relatives of some party colleagues as part of business dealing, but that the party had never obtained it.
A five-year ban on Abhisit, if it happened - and happened soon enough - would create a serious political vacuum, as most leading politicians in Thailand are still serving bans from party dissolutions in 2007 and 2008.
And if other Democrat executives join Abhisit in five-year oblivion, the only charismatic figure left will be former party leader and ex-prime minister Chuan Leekpai.
The minority vote in the TPI Polene case belonged to EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond, who was the main target of the red shirts when they besieged the EC headquarters last week because of his alleged ties with the Democrats.
Apichart's lone vote could prove crucial, Democrat legal experts say, because he is also the political party registrar, who holds decisive power when it comes to issues that do not receive unanimous agreement among the commissioners.
A key player in the donation controversy is obscure advertising firm Messiah, hired to produce campaign materials for the Democrats.
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