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Published on February 27, 2008

House Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapai-rat announced yesterday he would voluntarily step aside from his parliamentary duties after the Election Commission (EC) resolved to pursue legal action against him for alleged electoral violations.

The EC is expected to bring the case to the Supreme Court within two weeks. The legal action could eventually threaten the ruling People Power Party's existence.

"I won't let myself continue as House speaker [while] tainted with accusations. I have assigned my two deputies to take over my job of chairing House meetings. I won't fight as the House speaker, but rather as an ordinary citizen," Yongyuth said.

He insisted he would not resign as a member of Parliament.

"Though I won't be in the speaker's seat, I will continue attending House meetings as an MP," he said.

Speaking at a press conference called in the wake of the EC's decision, Yongyuth repeated that he was innocent and that the vote-buying accusation against him was part of a frame-up.

The press conference took place at the People Power Party's headquarters.

The five election commissioners yesterday voted 3-2 to disqualify Yongyuth, a party-list MP from Zone 1, on grounds of campaign violations.

The EC ruled to petition the Supreme Court to launch a judicial review on alleged vote-buying in Chiang Rai involving Yongyuth, EC secretary-general Suthiphon Thaveechai-garn said yesterday.

He said the EC's legal team was drafting the petition and he expected it to be completed in two weeks.

"Yongyuth can now conti-nue his role as the House speaker, but this will be suspended as soon as the court accepts the petition," Suthiphon said.

If Yongyuth is convicted in the judicial review, he will lose his seat and face a five-year election ban.

In trying Yongyuth, who is concurrently a People Power Party executive, the EC is obliged to form an investigative panel to determine whether his alleged violations were linked to the party.

Should the link be suspected, the EC must petition the Constitution Court to rule whether to dismantle the party.

Of the five commissioners, EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond, Prapun Naigowit and Sumeth Ubanisakorn voted in support of the legal move against Yongyuth while Sodsri Satayathum and Somchai Juengprasert voted against it, according to a source.

When asked by a reporter to confirm the vote result, Sumeth said: "You made a correct guess. So why ask me?"

Sodsri said, however, that she abstained after her request for a complete questioning of all the witnesses was turned down. She said the EC probe did not question the last witness requested by Yongyuth.

In a related development, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej yesterday said he was stunned by the EC's decision to seek to disqualify Yongyuth, saying he would have to clarify the information before deciding on his next move.

Samak urged party MPs not to panic. "This is just an accusation, and we can explain it. The court will decide if Yongyuth is guilty," he said.

Following the EC's decision to give Yongyuth a "red card", Pojaman Shinawatra, a PPP financial supporter and wife of ex-premier Thaksin, called a meeting of key party figures and some former executives of the disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party, according to a source.

People Power's legal experts were also consulted during the meeting about what to do next, the source said.

The Nation