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She said the subcommittee investigating the matter was divided on the disqualification proposal. A team of legal advisers - academics and constitution writers - had been appointed to offer advice to the subcommittee.

Sodsri said she thought the panel should base its decision on legal advice from the expert team.

When asked if her comment would pressure the subcommittee, Sodsri said panel members should heed legal advice from the experts. She added that it would be the EC's duty to make the final decision whether to pursue the case with the Constitution Court.

She said there had been differences before between a probe panel and a team of legal advisers involving a case of political party dissolution, but the EC agreed to the legal experts' advice to pursue the case. The Constitution Court finally concurred with the EC and ruled for party dissolution.

Sodsri, who is in charge of political party affairs, said EC members must consider the matter carefully because it was "life and death" for the MPs involved. She said it would be all EC members - and not the subcommittee or the advisers - who would face the legal responsibility if something went wrong.

The Constitution prevents MPs and senators from holding shares in a media business and companies awarded with state concessions.

In a related development, three MPs from the opposition Pheu Thai Party yesterday testified before the EC investigation subcommittee about their shareholdings. They are Sunai Jullapongsathorn, Pairote Tanbanjong and Panhathai Serirak.

Sunai said his wife is an employee of PTT, entitled to hold shares in the petroleum company. He said the constitutional provision preventing public holders and their spouses from holding shares in such companies was, to him, against the constitutional liberty of occupation.

However, he would accept whatever the EC decided about the matter.

"This is a present from the CNS. Since this constitution was promulgated, problems have continued unabated," the politician said, referring to the view the charter was a legacy of the coup by the Council for National Security.

Meanwhile, Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Boondet expressed hope yesterday the EC would change its recent decision that would disqualify 16 Upper House members for equity rule violations. He said the EC might have obtained new information involving the matter.

The Speaker said some senators told him the EC had never allowed them to explain that some of them held only a small amount of shares worth Bt400. "They held shares with innocence," he added.

Prasopsuk is entitled by law to forward any petition from the EC to the Constitution Court for a ruling about shareholding cases. He said the EC had yet to hand him the case involving the 16 senators.