Court Dissolves Thai Government After Finding Rampant Fraud In Elections

The Thai Supreme Court has dissolved the recently elected government as a result of finding widespread fraud in how the party came to power.

Somchai's People's Power Party, the Machima Thipatai party and the Chart Thai party were found guilty of committing fraud in the December 2007 elections that brought the coalition to power.

"Dishonest political parties undermine Thailand's democratic system," said Court President Chat Chalavorn.

The ruling sends Somchai and 59 executives of the three parties into political exile and bars them from politics for five years. Of the 59, 24 are lawmakers who will also have to resign their parliamentary seats.

But lawmakers of the three dissolved parties who escaped the ban can join other parties, try to cobble together a new coalition then choose a new prime minister.

Until then, Deputy Prime Minister Chaowarat Chandeerakul will become the caretaker prime minister, said Suparak Nakboonnam, a government spokeswoman. She said parliament will have to pick a new prime minister within 30 days.

Despite the appearance of a smooth political transition, the ruling is expected to widen the dangerous rift in Thai society that many fear could lead to violence between pro- and anti-government groups.

Thailand has been wracked by violence and protests for weeks, with the problem becoming more intense in recent days as protests have shut down airports and threatened to shut down trade altogether.

While this latest news will bolster the opposition, those supporters of the government may not give up so easily and may carry out retaliatory violence.

It's also the second time in three months that the court has dissolved the government and removed the Prime Minister:

Tuesday's ruling by the court is the second time in three months it has removed a prime minister from the PPP, which took office after elections in December 2007.

The court also dissolved two of the PPP's coalition partners and barred more than 30 other PPP officials from public office over allegations of vote-rigging.

The People's Alliance for Democracy accuses Somchai of leading a proxy government for his brother-in-law, ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

Thaksin returned to Thailand after the PPP victory in 2007, but fled the country again just as he was to appear in a corruption case against him.

Somchai himself has been avoiding the capital, choosing instead to stay in the northern city of Chiang Mai.

All of this is cast against the backdrop of still ongoing Islamist violence in Southern Thailand.