Unjudged: Party leaders still under consideration

By Mongkol Bangprapa and Supawadee Susanpoolthong

A judge in the case said on Tuesday the Constitution Tribunal has still not decided whether to base its party dissolution verdict on the coup-makers' announcement No 27, which would bar guilty leaders from holding political posts for five years.

Tribunal judge Nurak Mapraneet said the judges have not yet made a ruling one way or the other on the case.

He was responding to an Election Commission (EC) call for the coup-makers' announcement to be used to punish executive members of the Thai Rak Thai and Democrat parties if they are found to have committed electoral fraud.

Announcement 27, amending the Political Parties Act 1998, forbids executive members of dissolved parties from holding political posts for five years.

Mr Nurak said he could not speculate about what the other judges will decide in the matter.

According to election commisioner Sodsri Sattayatham, the EC has asked the tribunal, through the prosecution, to rule on the executive members as well if their parties are disbanded.

Mr Nurak dismissed the notion that the tribunal had already decided to dissolve both parties.

Thai Rak Thai lawyer Vichit Plangsrisakul earlier claimed he already knew the tribunal's decision regarding party dissolution.

Mr Vichit went so far as to say the tribunal had voted six to three to disband Thai Rak Thai and five to four to disband the Democrats for involvement in poll fraud in the campaign for the April 2 general election.

Mr Nurak said the judges will meet on Tuesday to present their personal judgements.

The next day, they will write a combined verdict, which will be read to the two parties in the afternoon.

The Constitution Drafting Committee yesterday agreed with a proposal to include in the first draft of the new constitution a section which stipulates punishment for political party executives found guilty of breaking election law.

Jarun Pukditanakul, a charter drafter, proposed executive members found to have been involved in electoral fraud, such as vote-buying, be held responsible for the crime.

He suggested that when parties are dissolved as a result of a Constitution Court verdict, the executives be banned from running in elections for a period of time or even for life.

However, Mr Jarun said, the proposal would provide for the Constitution Court to handle cases involving political parties accused of electoral fraud, while the Election Commission would deal with individual poll candidates suspected of committing wrongdoing.

As well, he suggested that punishment be meted out to printers hired to forge poll ballots.

Manich Sooksomchitra, a charter drafter, hailed the proposal, saying the draft will go a long way toward keeping culprits out of parliament.

Non-government organisation activists yesterday criticised many parts of the charter draft as being ''unacceptable''.

Former Bangkok senator Jon Ungpakorn, of the Aids Access Foundation, attacked the appointment of senators under the draft as a step backward.

He said the draft charter would emasculate independent agencies, which are supposed to maintain a system of checks and balances, by screening out representatives of the public in favour of the near-retired bureaucrats.