Thai ruling party survives ban threat

BANGKOK, Dec 9, 2010 (AFP) - Thailand's ruling Democrats escaped a political ban Thursday for the second time in less than two weeks, clearing the way for premier Abhisit Vejjajiva to lead the party into an election battle next year.

BANGKOK, Dec 9, 2010 (AFP) - Thailand's ruling Democrats escaped a political ban Thursday for the second time in less than two weeks, clearing the way for premier Abhisit Vejjajiva to lead the party into an election battle next year.

The case, one of two lodged in April during deadly political violence, centred on allegations of an illegal donation to Thailand's oldest party during its 2005 national election campaign, when Abhisit was deputy leader.

The Constitutional Court voted 4-3 to dismiss the charge on the basis that the legal process was not conducted properly, to the disappointment of the government's political opponents.

Thai people "will be angry and it confirms the double standards in justice", the Red Shirts' acting chairwoman Thida Thavornseth told AFP.

The court had the power to disband the Democrats and hand down five-year political bans to senior figures, including the prime minister, if they were found guilty.

The submission of the two cases by the Election Commission coincided with violence that ultimately left more than 90 people dead in clashes between troops and Red Shirt protesters.

The first, involving alleged misuse of a 29-million-baht (960,000-dollar) state election grant in 2005, was dismissed by the same court on November 29 for similar reasons.

The decision to drop the charges on technicalities could upset many people in the politically divided kingdom, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a politics professor at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

"It will add to the sense of rage and pent-up frustration," he said.

The Democrats came to power themselves in a parliamentary vote two years ago after court decisions ousted allies of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a hero to many of the Red Shirts.

The judiciary forced two prime ministers from office in 2008 -- one of them, Samak Sundaravej, was removed for taking payments for hosting TV cooking shows.

The Red Shirts accuse Abhisit's government of being an undemocratic elite and were campaigning for immediate elections.

Abhisit refused to hold snap polls, but must call an election before his term finishes at the end of 2011.

Thaksin, himself unseated in a 2006 military coup, remains a deeply divisive figure in Thailand with strong support among the Red Shirts, who were behind the mass opposition protests in Bangkok in April and May.

The two-month rally by the Reds attracted up to 100,000 people demanding immediate elections, but was crushed in May in a deadly military assault on their base.

Most of their leaders -- including Thida's husband Weng Tojirakan -- are in jail facing terrorism charges.

After the crackdown, a small group of hardcore protesters set dozens of major buildings ablaze in the heart of Bangkok, including a shopping mall and the stock exchange.

The Democrat Party, founded in 1946, is a conservative, pro-monarchy and establishment force backed by the military and Bangkok-based elite.

Its main support base is in the capital and southern provinces, while the Red Shirts' stronghold is the poorer, rural north and northeast.

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