Parties to bear the brunt for acting in defiant of the EC: Apichart

"Each executive can decide whether to heed the EC's ruling," he said.

Apichart said the EC had spelled out clearly its opinions why the banned executives could not be involved in campaign activities.

The EC did not infringe on the basic rights but gave its legal opinions about the enforcement of the election law and the punishment applicable to the banned executives, he said.

He dismissed the allegation that the ruling impacted on fairness among the parties. He said the EC was neutral and that it did not remove the banned executives from all political activities but from those reserved only for incumbent executives.

Chaturon Chaisang, one of the banned executives, was free to lead a rally on Friday to oppose the ruling although he should be careful not to defame the EC nor to make campaign speeches to support the People Power Party, he said.

The Nation