The Thai Rak Thai Party has called for a speedy review of the allegation that it committed campaign fraud, saying it wants to clear its name and move on instead of being embroiled in uncertainty.

"The Thai Rak Thai Party executive board has no worries about the legal proceedings and welcomes this as a chance to confirm its innocence in court," party deputy leader Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan said yesterday.

The party faces dissolution if found guilty of campaign fraud.

Sudarat was commenting on the upcoming review by the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) on whether to forward the case to the Constitution Court.

Prosecutors will decide on Tuesday whether to initiate judicial proceedings or to ask the Election Commission (EC) to gather additional evidence.

Last month the EC's Nam Yimyaem panel found cause to suspect that the ruling party had bankrolled small parties to contest the April 2 election in order to overcome the so-called 20-per-cent rule.

Because of the election boycott by opposition parties, Thai Rak Thai was left to field lone candidates, who were required to muster the support of at least 20 per cent of eligible voters.

This rule did not come into play, however, if any other party joined a constituency race in addition to Thai Rak Thai.

The EC submitted the Nam Yimyaem panel's investigative report to OAG without endorsement early this month. Following the prosecutors' objections, it endorsed the charges against the ruling party and resubmitted the report on Thursday.

EC member Prinya Nakchudtree said the OAG had sole jurisdiction on how to proceed with the case against Thai Rak Thai.

Sudarat said her party had had no involvement in the alleged fraud, hence party members remained upbeat.

She also dismissed speculation that caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak might resign.

Rumours persisted, however, that other Cabinet members might step aside in the wake of yesterday's departure of caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam.

Democrat Party deputy secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban said Wissanu's departure was a big dent in the credibility of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his government.

"Good people like Wissanu, Purachai Piumsombun [former deputy prime minister] and Kasem Wattanachai [former education minister] seem unable to work under Thaksin's leadership," he said.

Suthep said Thaksin should follow the lead of his former subordinates and step aside before it was too late.

"The political turmoil will remain as long as Thaksin clings to power, and the country is the real victim of his refusal to exit," he said.

He said Thaksin should make clear if and when he would relinquish power, instead of making dubious statements to keep everyone guessing his true intentions.

With the fate of the ruling party hanging in the balance pending the outcome of litigation, political observers have expressed concern about the ramifications of preparations for the next general election.

The EC has proposed October 15 as the date for voting. The caretaker government has endorsed this.

But the draft election-day decree appears not to be forthcoming, as relevant parties fear that its hasty enactment might give a new lease of life to the EC.

The three top courts have demanded that the EC step aside, paving the way to restore the credibility of the electoral process following the botched April 2 vote.

Should the election-day decree take effect now, the three remaining members of the EC would have a convenient excuse to cling to office as being obliged to make preparations for the balloting.

Democrat executive Nipit Intarasombat said EC chairman Vasana Puemlarp had told him he would leave office before October 15.

"Vasana wants to clear his work backlog before stepping aside," he said.

Nipit added that opposing sides were engaging in myriad court battles designed to end the political crisis.

"It will take the judicial proceedings a lot of time to resolve all the relevant issues, and the three top courts should induce a timely solution by summoning leaders of the major parties to work out a settlement," he said.