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Published on December 26, 2007

The trio are all candidates in Nakhon Ratchasima's Constituency 3 - Boonlert Krutkhunthod, Linda Cherdchai and Prasert Janruang-thong. They will have to contest a new round of voting on January 13 with other candidates.

The EC yesterday began looking into 48 complaints of electoral fraud filed so far against winning candidates.

The election commissioners voted 4-1 against the PPP trio, according to EC secretary-general Suthiphon Thaveechaiygarn.

He said the three candidates were found to have benefited from their canvassers hiring people to join their campaign rally and from donating money to a local temple.

Of the 10 complaints reviewed yesterday, three were rejected, Suthiphon said.

The EC also resolved to summon six winning candidates - four of them from People Power and two from the Democrats - to explain allegations of vote buying or making false accusations against other candidates, he said.

Earlier yesterday, Election Commissioner Somchai Juengprasert said the EC would not try to hasten its consideration of fraud complaints. "We will stress fairness," he said.

EC member Sodsri Satayathum said yesterday that the agency would rely on evidence to rule on how many red and yellow cards will be issued on electoral fraud and would set no limit on the number of candidates who could be disqualified.

"The EC will not be pressured to cap the number of disqualified candidates simply because the law requires the presence of 456 of 480 MPs to convene the new House," she said.

Although Parliament was due to convene within 30 days of the December 23 election, the charter allowed National Legislative Assembly members to act in lieu of MPs in the transition period, she said, hinting that the EC would not be rushed into endorsing the voting results before vote-buying inquiries had been completed.

The earliest date the EC could endorse non-contested results was January 3, as it was obliged to allow seven days for any late challenges to the outcome, she said.

Sodsri dismissed speculation the EC would disqualify no more than 24 candidates.

She said the EC had already started to look into electoral fraud complaints and that it had scheduled January 13 as the date for the first of two new rounds of voting.

The Nation