JURIST - Paper Chase: Thailand prosecutors want ruling party dissolved

[JURIST] An investigative committee for Thailand's Attorney General's office on Tuesday unanimously recommended that five of Thailand's political parties be dissolved because of fraud surrounding an April general election [JURIST report]. The recommendation includes the ruling Thai Rak Thai [party website] led by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [official website; BBC profile], as well as the opposition Democrats [party website] and three smaller political parties. Prosecutors will now ask the Constitutional Court [official website] to make a final decision on disbanding the five political parties.

Thailand's Election Commission (EC) [official website] determined last week [JURIST report] that the Thai Rak Thai party broke two election laws [materials] by paying groups to run candidates in the annulled April parliamentary elections in order to meet election requirements after the main opposition parties boycotted the vote. The Constitutional Court annulled the elections [JURIST report] in early May, and Thailand's three principal courts have repeatedly called for the EC to resign [JURIST report] over the election problems. A new election [JURIST report] will take place in October. AP has more. Reuters has additional coverage. The Bangkok Post has local coverage.

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