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"I believe that humans are capable of dividing their beliefs and responsibility," the 57-year-old said. "I insist that I have no reason to hate Thaksin."

The former AEC member explained that even the Shinawatra defence lawyers had the right to vote for the Democrats, and not necessarily the party their clients were affiliated with.

Kaewsan said he was one of the few AEC members who had proposed that Thaksin's wife Pojaman be let off the hook in her land-purchase case because there was insufficient evidence against her, despite the many "suspicious circumstances".

Pojaman is accused of purchasing a plot of land in Ratchadaphisek for a very low price from the state-controlled Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) while her husband was prime minister.

The suspicious circumstances cited by Kaewsan included questions on why Pojaman did not try to buy the land in the first round of bidding, and why no real bidding had taken place. He also asked why it appeared that the land's registration numbers had been leaked even before the document was made official, and also why no minimum bidding price was quoted in the second round of bids.

Another former AEC member, Klanarong Chantik, meanwhile, told the court that since Bt772 million had already gone to the FIDF, the land should be confiscated if Thaksin and Pojaman were found guilty.

"The money was used for a crime and the purchase of the land was illegal," Klanarong said.

Like Kaewsan, Klanarong said he had no personal grudge against Thaksin and that his work at the AEC was led by the principle of "fairness and accuracy". He denied having ever graced the People's Alliance for Democracy stage.

Also, two defence witnesses took the stand in court yesterday. One of them, Pannee Sathawaroedom, a senior official from the Finance Ministry, was questioned by the defence lawyer about the FIDF's independence, to which she said that the organisation is run by a committee that had representatives from the ministry.

The trial continues on Tuesday. Pojaman is expected to testify later this month, possibly on August 22 or soon after, a defence lawyer revealed.