A high-ranking source of the party said they had heard that the Council for National Security (CNS) wanted to see both major parties, Democrat and Thai Rak Thai, dissolved.

The source said the most likely scenario is that both parties would be dissolved and their executives banned from taking up such positions or founding new parties for a period of five years.

It is still uncertain what penalties the party executives may face if the Democrats and TRT are dissolved - whether they will simply be banned from political posts or from all political activity for five years.

The same source said he learnt that party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was considering taking a break from politics if the Tribunal decided to dissolve the party.

The source, who asked not to be named, said that even if the Tribunal did not ban the party's executives from political activity, Abhisit would be reluctant to run in the coming general election or accept any political post.

The source said Abhisit was not backing down but rather wanted to take a stand against injustice, because the party had done nothing wrong. Moreover, he wanted to show responsibility if the party was dissolved while under his watch, the source said.

Some of the party's other executives apparently agree with Abhisit and also plan to take a break from politics if the party is dissolved, the source said.

Abhisit was also reluctant to accept prominent political positions offered by others if he was no longer the Democrat leader.

The Democrat leadership would not leave the party to form new parties, as some of Thai Rak Thai's former executives have done. At the same time, they would not be nominees for others, the source said.

However, he could not say who would be better than Abhisit as a new party leader.

Party chief adviser and former party leader Chuan Leekpai has said many times that he would not accept the post again. But if he did accept the post, he might allow Democrats close to him to bring Sanan Kachornprasart - now the Mahachon Party leader - back to the party, and that was not so desirable, the source said.

The Democrats face great uncertainty, he said. He believed Sanan still has good connections with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Some Democrats believed the CNS at first wanted to see both parties dissolved with all the executives banned from politics for five years. But they have changed the plan so that both parties will be dissolved and their executives allowed to stay in politics, the source said.

However, the CNS would not be brave enough to dissolve only one party - Thai Rak Thai.