Tuesday September 2, 2008 MYT 7:36:23 PM
Thai polls declared illegal, ruling party ordered to dissolve
BANGKOK: The Thai Election Commission ruled Tuesday that the governing People's Power Party committed electoral fraud and should be dissolved, furthering complicating the country's continuing political crisis.
The Election Commission's Secretary General Suthiphon Thawichaikan said the commission "unanimously voted to dissolve'' the People's Power Party. The case now will be forwarded to the public prosecutor's office to determine whether it should be submitted to the Constitutional Court for a final ruling.
The commission's ruling follows allegations of electoral fraud against the party during the December election, in which it won a majority of seats. It later formed a government led by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
The ruling is likely to intensify the pressure on Samak, the 73-year-old leader who has so far fended off demands from tens of thousand of anti-government protesters to resign. They accuse him of corruption and of being a proxy for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a 2006 coup.
Protesters have occupied the prime minister's office compound since storming the grounds a week ago. They have vowed to remain on the grounds of government house until Samak resigns.
Their campaign sparked clashes overnight with pro-government supporters that left one person dead and prompted Samak to impose a state of emergency in Bangkok. -- AP
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