Tribunal gets tight security as election case set to begin
Security around the Constitution Tribunal court building will be tightened on November 30 when it convenes its first session into the electoral fraud case that could lead to the dismantling of the Thai Rak Thai Party, a tribunal official said.
"Police have been asked to ensure peace and security for the inquiry to proceed smoothly," Paiboon Warahapaitoon said. The first session will be devoted to explaining the inquiry proceedings, allowing public prosecutors and defence lawyers of the five political parties to familiarise themselves with the amendments enforced during the transition from the defunct court to the tribunal, he said. After outlining the new rules, the tribunal judges are expected to decide on how to allocate time for each of the five parties, he said. Joining Thai Rak Thai as defendants are the Democrat, Thai Ground, Pattana Chat Thai and Progressive Democratic parties. The alleged fraud stems from the bankrolling of small parties to contest the April 2 election. Paiboon said the tribunal would convene on December 12 to review the backlog of cases left by its preceding body. The cases include the dispute on the education credentials of two MPs, Nopadol Pholsen and Songkhram Kijlertpairoj, and the job qualifications for the National Counter Corruption Commission.
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