The first major bid took place on May 8 when the Constitution Court nullified the results of the April 2 poll and subsequent reruns organised by the former election commissioners.

Following His Majesty the King's call in his April 25 speech to help end the country's political deadlock, the judiciary has served as a last resort at a time when there is no functioning parliament and there is only a caretaker government in place. According to Article 3 of the Constitution, His Majesty, as the head of state, exercises his authority via the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Since only the last sovereign power remains intact, the judiciary functions as the inevitable last resort.

Historians have noted that this is the first time in the long history of the Thai judiciary that an extensive judicial review of the Thai political system has taken place. Previously only the military would have exercised such power through staging coups d'etat. This time, the judiciary, which normally avoids politics, has taken this unprecedented action in order to return Thailand's democratic system of governance to normalcy.

Prior to the harsh verdict handed down against the EC Three, top judicial officials repeatedly made public calls for these former commissioners to step down to open the way for the appointment of new commissioners so that future elections could be held in a free and fair manner to help end the political deadlock. These pleas were ignored and the remaining commissioners chose to stick to their guns.

As a result, all three were handed four-year jail terms and were refused bail both by the lower court, the Appeals Court and the Supreme Court.

The three were denied bail on the grounds that they had committed a serious offence that undermined the integrity of the country's democracy.

Now the judiciary is occupied with the task of nominating a total of 10 persons to the Senate, five of whom would then be chosen by the upper House to serve on the Election Commission. The judiciary is doing this in accordance with the Constitution and EC law, which stipulates that when there is no functioning parliament the Supreme Court is tasked with submitting a list of all 10 nominees for the Senate's final selection. In normal circumstances, the high court would nominate only five persons for the EC posts, while the remaining five would be nominated by representatives of Parliament and the rectors of state universities.

The judiciary is expected to finish its nomination process by August 10, so that the Senate will have adequate time to screen the candidates. The Supreme Court has said it will do its best in the nomination process and all 87 Supreme Court judges will be required to cast their votes on the nominees.

To be eligible, a nominee will require the support of at least 44 Supreme Court judges. In other words, the Supreme Court hopes that all 10 nominees for the final selection by the Senate will be highly qualified, especially in terms of judicial integrity.

The Thai political scene hit a dead end after Thaksin Shinawatra, now the caretaker premier, decided to dissolve the House of Representatives in February of this year in order to solve his own political problems, following the controversial tax-free Bt73-billion sale of his family's holdings in Shin Corp to Temasek of Singapore.

Once Thaksin resorted to dissolving the House amid mounting public opposition to his rule and street protests, he hoped that a snap election would return him to power. But the April 2 election and subsequent polls were soon annulled - largely because it was a one-horse race due to an opposition boycott.

There had been no resolution in sight until HM the King urged leaders of  the judiciary in an Apr 25 speech to help end the political impasse.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

 nop1122@yahoo.com