Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled Monday that the
inconclusive April 2 general election was unconstitutional and said
a new poll should be held to try to resolve months of political
deadlock.
"The Constitutional Court voted eight to six that the elections
were unconstitutional and voted nine to five to hold a new
election," Judge Ura Wangomklang told reporters after the court
met.
A spokesman later confirmed the ruling and said the government
should set the date for a new poll.
However, in a sign of the constitutional confusion which is
likely to ensue, a senior bureaucrat said it was actually up to the
Election Commission (EC) to decide.
"It is the EC's job, not the government's," Cabinet
Secretary-General Bovornsak Uwanno told reporters. "The EC will
have to talk to every party to find an appropriate election
date."
Earlier, another judge said the ruling would resolve the
political crisis, although a clear way out of what revered King
Bhumibol Adulyadej has described as a "mess" does not appear to be
imminent.
The EC, widely criticized for its handling of the snap election,
declined to comment until it had studied the ruling, EC spokesman
Prasert Suthison told reporters.
The impasse was brought about by a boycott of the snap April
poll by the opposition Democrat Party that left empty seats in
parliament and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra unable to form a
government.
Thaksin, a telecommunications billionaire, stood aside after a
strong protest vote but members of his Thai Rak Thai party,
including the deputy who has taken over his day-to-day duties, have
said he would be eligible to run again if the poll was
nullified.
Agriculture Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said the party "humbly
welcomed" the court's decision and was "ready to compete in another
election."
After a rare intervention by the king last month, the Democrats,
who had argued the April poll was not fair, said they would
participate in a re-run.
The court had been asked to rule on four issues the scheduling
of the poll, whether ballot booths were positioned correctly,
allegations of the government bankrolling smaller parties and the
lack of a formal review of ballot results.
Thaksin called the election three years early to counter a
Bangkok-based street campaign against him, but the plan backfired
when the three main opposition parties refused to take part,
campaigning instead for a protest "no" vote.
He announced a "political break" after the poll but his return
to the public eye in the past week leading a cabinet audience with
the king to mark Coronation Day has intensified speculation the
move was purely cosmetic.
The People's Alliance for Democracy, the ad hoc coalition of
street campaigners, have vowed to start their protests anew if the
billionaire tycoon went back on his promise not to seek
re-election.
Aides said the cabinet appearances did not point to Thaksin
returning to politics, although newspapers speculated that rounds
of golf he played with Thai Rak Thai leaders at the weekend were a
prelude to an election campaign.
(China Daily May 9, 2006)
