It was also a major breakthrough to assist the country in moving forward towards another general election following a political stalemate that has lasted for months.

The disgraced trio stands to face further legal proceedings and criminal charges, and must refrain from all political activities and assuming any role that might obstruct current efforts to put the country's electoral politics on the right course. This was a significant condition placed on their temporary freedom outside of prison by the Criminal Court.

Surely, they could not have anticipated that they would end up not just in disgrace and publicly humiliated, but also in jail. It was quite unprecedented, but most people are of the belief that they deserved such punishment based on their previous ignorance of and dogged stubbornness against the public's repeated calls for them to step down.

A selection process is under way for a new Election Commission. The prospects appear promising that the public can expect reasonably fair elections held under strict supervision to prevent cheating and other misdeeds found to have been rampant in previous polls.

Despite this improved scenario, lingering doubts remain as to whether there will be a general election on October 15 after all, due to some crucial factors that may have disruptive effects and unpredictable consequences.

The Thai Rak Thai and Democrat parties, together with three small also-rans, still have an uncertain future pending a ruling by the Constitution Court on whether they should be dissolved for alleged wrongdoings. If the Court finds some of these parties guilty, there could be further complications.

As of now, Thai Rak Thai members are not feeling optimistic. Two senior party hotshots have been caught almost red-handed with fairly credible evidence of wrongdoing and the Court's decision to dissolve their party would prevent them from running in the next election.

There is speculation as to which party will get the axe - Thai Rak Thai or Democrat, or both. Which party stands a better chance of surviving? It's a highly crucial political factor. Not many people care much about the other parties. Their names don't ring a bell anyway.

The Thai Rak Thai Party has prepared both a safety net and a fall-back position by applying for the registration of new parties, just in case. They hope to switch to any of the new ones if the party is dissolved. But there is still not enough time to meet the Constitution's requirement that in order to contest an election under a particular party's banner, the person running must have been a member of that party for at least 90 days.

In that case, Thai Rak Thai would seek a postponement of the election date. The Democrat Party is also expected to explore such options. They too do not want to be made extinct.

There is a very disturbing point to consider. If Thai Rak Thai candidates, under their existing banner or a new one, and particularly Thaksin Shinawatra, can still run for elections, they will win with the help of their huge war chest. Thaksin's name still sells well among the rural grass-roots voters who love his pork-barrel politics and the hearty goodies and freebies he dishes out through his populist programmes.

The country will surely be back at square one. All efforts to improve the political situation in Thailand would be rendered useless, because frankly the common desire is to usher Thaksin out of politics for good. With him on centre stage, there is a strong likelihood for violent confrontation and bloodshed due to a sharp divide between the pro- and anti-Thaksin factions.

Thaksin is a fighter. He is clinging on to power because he has not received full payment from the sale of his Shin Corp business empire. It has been a long wait, while the buyer - Temasek Holdings of Singapore - has been watching in dismay the corrosion of share prices and market value, not to mention legal troubles in the future if Thaksin is no longer around.

Getting rid of Thaksin is not easy. A man with billions of baht in hard cash surely has enormous resources to be put to good use in retaining his power base. For him, it is a matter of retaining his power base or losing it, with the likely prospect of legal problems as faced by the EC trio. But there is still a way. Party dissolution is not enough to prevent political rogues from returning to haunt the people and plunder more national assets to enhance their wealth. The Criminal Court has shown the final solution by revoking the political rights of the trio for 10 years. This is a strong beacon for more of the same to keep undesirable elements out of politics for a long time.

It will take a few more months before you know if Thaksin and others will be made to face such an effective show-stopper. This is just one legal solution however. The embattled billionaire has to face a criminal charge filed by an American businessman for false claims as well.

Ah! His loose lips in the past might come back to cause him serious legal troubles. There have been at least three occasions during which he got carried away by political histrionics and some unbecoming remarks were uttered relating to the country's highest institution.

The police are gingerly processing the charges with utmost reluctance for fear of political influence. Thaksin's adversaries can wait. The statute of limitations for this crime is 20 years.

Sopon Ongkara