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Panel rules against Thai house speaker

"Welcome home prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whom we love, miss and have been waiting to return for over a year."

official Web site of deposed Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra

Thailand's Election Commission voted yesterday to disqualify the speaker of parliament's lower house for electoral fraud, issuing a ruling that could dissolve the People's Power Party (PPP) that leads the coalition government.

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said his PPP would hold a "special meeting to discuss the problem" later in the day.

The Election Commission ruled 3-2 that House Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat, an executive leader of PPP, was guilty of vote-buying in his northern Chiang Rai Province ahead of elections last December, spokesman Raungroj Jomsueb said.

The commission will forward its findings to the Supreme Court within 15 days. If the court accepts the case, Yongyuth will have to stop working in parliament pending the court's decision.

Election law states that if a senior member of a political party is found guilty of electoral crimes, the entire party could be disbanded if that person is found to have acted on behalf of the party.

If the Supreme Court upholds the commission's ruling, Yongyuth will have to resign as a member of parliament. The Constitutional Court would then decide whether to disband PPP.

Yongyuth is a former adviser to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup. He also served as government spokesman and environment minister under Thaksin.

Parliament's choice of a Thaksin loyalist as house speaker was an embarrassment for the military generals who ousted him and had sought to lessen the former premier's influence on Thai politics. Thaksin is accused of corruption and abuse of power.

Despite the coup, Thaksin remains popular with the rural majority who benefited from his populist policies while he held office from 2001 to 2006.

The PPP, which is packed with Thaksin allies, won the largest number of seats in last December's general elections, which were the first since the coup.

The PPP now heads a six-party coalition that controls about two-thirds of the 480 seats in the lower house.

Meanwhile, Thaksin will return to Thailand from 17 months in exile tomorrow to fight corruption charges, his lawyer said. His critics warned the homecoming could plunge the country into political crisis.

The prospect of Thaksin's imminent return sent shock waves through political circles, prompting Sundaravej to call for calm.

"I want to urge the Thai people not to be concerned," Samak told reporters. "I do not anticipate any unwanted incidents. There will be no chaos."

Thaksin was abroad during the coup and has lived overseas since then, mostly in London and Hong Kong. He said earlier this year he planned to return in April to fight corruption charges.

Thaksin's official Web site posted a picture yesterday of the deposed prime minister with his right hand raised giving the victory sign, superimposed over an image of Bangkok's international airport as fireworks exploded overhead.

It urged supporters to greet Thaksin at the airport tomorrow.

"Welcome home prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whom we love, miss and have been waiting to return for over a year," the Web site said in Thai.

The chief of Thaksin's legal defense team, Pichit Chuenban, said the return date "is confirmed."

"We are ready for his return," he said.

Pichit said Thaksin will surrender to police when he arrives and will seek his release on bail.

Thaksin and his wife Pojaman face corruption and conflict of interest charges in connection with her purchase of prime Bangkok real estate from a state agency in 2003, while he was prime minister.

In addition to those charges, Thaksin has been indicted for concealing assets.

Pojaman returned to Thailand last month and was released on bail pending trial.
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