Election Law
Thai Court Orders Ouster of Prime Minister Due to Vote Fraud
Posted Dec 2, 2008, 05:42 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ordered the ouster of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat because of electoral fraud in voting last December.
The ruling comes amid protests over voting irregularities that had shut down the country’s airports, the Washington Post reports. The court dissolved Thailand’s top three political parties, including Somchai’s party, and banned Somchai along with 108 other officials from political office for five years, report the Post and the Associated Press.
Although Somchai’s supporters condemned the ruling, the prime minister appeared to accept it, according to the Post. "My duty is over. I am now an ordinary citizen," he said.
The ruling stems from a voter fraud case against an executive committee member of Somchai’s party. Thai law allows an entire political party to be disbanded if one executive member is found guilty of electoral fraud, the AP story says.