A court disbanded the political party of Thailand’s ousted prime minister Wednesday, barring him and 110 party executives from politics for five years due to election law violations.
The ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal followed a guilty verdict against the Thai Rak Thai party for financing obscure parties to run against it in elections last year to get around turnout rules. The court also disbanded three smaller parties, two of them hired by Thai Rak Thai.
The ban is a stunning end for a party that just two years ago was the most powerful in Thailand. Its demise began after the military overthrew Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in September. The bloodless coup followed demonstrations by tens of thousands of people demanding Thaksin’s resignation and accusing him of corruption.
“The defendant is responsible for holding up democratic ways, but instead it used parliamentary election only as a means to achieve totalitarian power,” Judge Vichai Chuenchompoonuj said.
The decision cannot be appealed. It was greeted by shock and tears at Thai Rak Thai headquarters.
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Items compiled from Tribune news services.
