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Published on January 9, 2008

The Election Commission is expected to rule today on an electoral fraud case involving People Power Party deputy leader Yongyuth Tiyapairat as a party-list candidate for Zone 1, EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond said yesterday.

A ruling against him could spark a series of events that could end with the PPP being disbanded, he said.

Should Yongyuth be found to have committed wrongdoing in his capacity as deputy party leader, the case could trigger litigation in the Constitution Court, he said.

In such a scenario, the EC may be "obliged to petition for the party to be disbanded", he said.

He spoke following yesterday's hearing where Yongyuth called 10 witnesses to testify in his defence.

The EC has allowed the defence to examine evidence relating to fraud charges and will hear the testimony of a final defence witness before passing judgement.

The gist of the charges concerns Yongyuth's involvement in offering monetary rewards to village headmen and kamnans in Chiang Rai to sway votes for him and his party.

Under new electoral rules, a political party is accountable for any electoral offence involving party executives.

A group of 20 Yongyuth supporters held a rally in front of EC headquarters to provide him with moral support during a three-hour hearing.

Emerging from the session, Yongyuth said he would not make any comment on the outcome of the case to avoid pressuring the EC.

He did say, however, that his defence holds high stakes as the fate of the PPP could hang in the balance.

"I suspect foul play as the complaint against me was filed on December 21, although the alleged incident happened on October28," he said.

He said the mastermind behind the complaint might be the same invisible hand that is trying to form an alternative coalition.

The Nation