Main parties locked in legal combat - The Nation

The Nation March 12, 2012 1:00 am

The ruling party seeks to have the main Opposition party disbanded, while the Democrats are trying to force an exit for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Information and Communications Technology Minister Anudith Nakornthap.

Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said yesterday the party expects to file a petition with the Election Commission this week calling for the disbanding of the Democrat Party.

Prompong said the Democrats had erected billboards in the South rallying people to oppose charter change, a move that could be construed as an expression of hostility toward democratic rule, an offence punishable by party dissolution.

He said the Democrats tried to sow public confusion by fabricating charges that his ruling party aimed to topple the monarchy and grant amnesty for fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Pheu Thai expects the EC to launch the disbandment process via the Office of the Attorney General, which is tasked with activating a judicial review, he said.

The Democrats, meanwhile, have been building a dereliction-of-duty case against Yingluck and will launch the legal proceedings soon via the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), party deputy spokeswoman Mallika Boonmeetrakul said.

Mallika said the case will focus on Yingluck's failure to attempt to bring back Thaksin, who is a fugitive in five graft cases.

"Yingluck's leadership is unacceptable," she said, attacking the prime minister for refusing to clarify the stand on her brother Thaksin.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung vowed to resolve all legal issues in order to bring Thaksin back as a free man. But Yingluck evaded all questions on the matter.

In a related development, the Democrats' legal team claimed to have discovered that Anudith might have made ill-gotten gains due to unexplained changes in his asset statements filed in 2008 and 2011.

When Anudith was elected as a Pheu Thai MP, he reported that his liabilities exceeded his assets by Bt2 million. Within three years, his wealth leapt to Bt11 million, even though his earnings amounted to no more than Bt3 million, the Democrats said.

The main Opposition party is expected to petition the NACC to look into the matter.

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Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Main-parties-locked-in-legal-combat-30177722.html

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