Controversy and legal troubles battering the lame-duck Election Commission could multiply today should it fail to state clearly whether there are grounds to suggest the Thai Rak Thai Party has committed major electoral fraud.

Prosecutors have demanded the EC's clear-cut opinion on whether the Thai Rak Thai case should go to the Constitution Court. The EC has submitted to the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) a report from a fact-finding committee that concluded there was strong evidence to suggest the party hired small parties to provide "fake" competition in the April 2 general election.

Having sent the fact-finding committee's report back to the EC because there was no final recommendation, the OAG today expects to receive a clear-cut case that could be forwarded to the Constitution Court without much fuss. But the OAG's optimism was hampered yesterday by rumours that the EC would return the subcommittee report unchanged, thus putting the ball back on the prosecutors' court.

Despite facing mounting social and legal pressure for their resignation, the three remaining commissioners have fuelled charges they were biased in favour of Thai Rak Thai by refusing to endorse the sub-committee's report.

They initially gave the report to the OAG only after they were threatened with serious criminal charges for alleged malfeasance and negligence of duty.

"We have told the commissioners unequivocally what they need to do," said OAG spokesman Attaphol Yaisawang. "Now we can only wait and see. If the report is sent back to us [unchanged] it will tell us a lot about the EC. We are hoping for the best, though."

The head of the fact-finding committee, former Supreme Court vice president Nam Yimyaem, yesterday insisted his panel saw a solid case, and Thai Rak Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra should be called upon to testify and defend himself and his party.

"We have done our job, and we agree with the OAG that the report requires the EC's final opinion before being sent to the Constitution Court," Nam said.

The OAG has ruled out the EC's call for a joint investigation to endorse the Nam committee report. It is legally questionable whether the OAG can forward the case to the Constitution Court without a clear-cut opinion from the EC, which is still refusing to question Thaksin.

Without Thaksin's testimony, any case before the Constitution Court could be regarded as incomplete, legal experts said.

The alleged offence, in which some key Thaksin deputies in Thai Rak Thai have been implicated, carries the drastic penalty of party dissolution and could end the caretaker prime minister's hopes of returning to power.

Deputy Attorney-General Chaikasem Nitisiri admitted the OAG might not be able to proceed if the EC does not present a complete case.

"Without the EC's final opinion it will be difficult for us to go ahead, but I don't want to speculate on anything at the moment," he said.

The commissioners have been embroiled in legal trouble themselves, facing a number of lawsuits and legal petitions because of a perceived bias towards Thai Rak Thai. The Constitution is to decide today whether to accept a petition by 35 senators who want the three commissioners disqualified from their jobs.

Returning an untouched Nam committee report to the OAG could spell more trouble for the commissioners, whose steadfast refusal to resign has created a major deadlock amid attempts to return a sense of normalcy to Thai politics.

But if the EC returns the Nam committee report complete with its final opinion for the OAG, the prosecutors could submit the case to the Constitution Court as early as next Wednesday.