Thai government parties risk dissolution on court ruling

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's Constitutional Court said Tuesday it would hear vote fraud charges against three ruling parties, which could result in the three being dissolved and their leaders banned from politics for five years.

"The Constitutional Court has decided to hear the cases of the three parties after the prosecutors passed them on," court secretary-general Paiboon Varahapaitoon told reporters.

Paiboon said the court would summon leaders of the People Power (PPP), Matchimathipatai and Chart Thai parties to answer the charges in two weeks. He did not say how long it might take to reach a verdict but legal experts said it could take months.

Last month the five-member Election Commission found the PPP guilty of buying votes during last December's general election and referred the case to prosecutors.

If the court ordered that the parties be dissolved, several cabinet ministers would be barred from politics and would have to step down.

The case before the Election Commission stemmed from guilty verdicts handed down earlier this year against officials of the three parties for vote fraud in December. The officials were banned from politics for five years.

Under the constitution drawn up by the army after a 2006 coup, an entire party can be disbanded and all of its executives barred from politics if just one member of the party's leadership is found guilty of vote fraud.

The PPP, the biggest party in the ruling coalition, has faced a series of challenges in the court.

In September Samak Sundaravej stepped down as prime minister after being found guilty of conflict of interest and Surapong Suebwonglee decided not to continue as finance minister under a new premier because of a legal case alleging he and other ministers infringed lottery laws in 2003.

The PPP is preparing for the worst and lining up a new "shell" party to admit all its MPs, who could try to cobble together another coalition government if the PPP is forced to disband.

(Reporting by Chalathip Thirasoonthrakul; Writing by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Alan Raybould)