The Democrats said the EC wrongfully allowed additional candidates to contest the repeat vote in 38 constituencies in order to help lone Thai Rak Thai candidates overcome the minimum required mandate of 20 per cent.

"The EC has violated the Constitution, relevant laws and democratic principles to the benefit the powers that be," the party said in a statement.

The party's criticisms against the EC include:

lElection law requires an unopposed candidate to gain 20 per cent of the vote and if they fail, a repeat vote can be held.

lThe EC has not been empowered to exercise its discretion to accept additional candidates for the repeat vote.

lIn managing the repeat vote, the EC has overstepped its mandate to allow defeated candidates from minor parties for the April 2 vote to switch constituencies for the second round of balloting. This is tantamount to candidate recycling.

lThe EC is supposed to an independent body but acts as if it receives direct orders from caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The party has set a three-day deadline to sue the EC for lapse of duty if it fails to rule on the proposed disqualification of 24 minor party candidates from the repeat vote.

Meanwhile, the People's Network for Elections in Thailand yesterday accused the EC of violating the Constitution and electoral law by holding the April 2 election. It also said the agency had failed to publish the official election result on its website even though the vote was held more than a week ago.

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TRT alone in 16 races

As of yesterday, the Thai Rak Thai Party will face no competition in 16 of the 40 constituencies in 17 provinces to be contested in the by-elections on April 23.

This means the 16 candidates must win at least 20 per cent of the eligible vote to secure their seats.

The Election Commission yesterday disqualified more candidates from smaller parties. However, the disqualified applicants could file a complaint to get a Supreme Court judgement.

The constituencies in which only one candidate is running are: Chumphon (constituencies 1 and 3), Trang (4), Nakhon Si Thammarat (8), Narathiwat (4), Phang Nga (1), Yala (1), Songkhla (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8), Satun (1), and Samut Sakhon (3). - The Nation