Court ruling rescues Thai government

Thailand’s ruling Democrat Party staved off possible dissolution today when a court refused to accept a case accusing it of illegal financing.

The Constitutional Court’s ruling is likely to inflame widespread criticism of double standards – it issued a similar ruling just 10 days ago, dismissing charges that the Democrats misused an official election fund.

Previous rulings have consistently gone against the Democrats’ political opponents.

If the Democrats had been found guilty in either case, the party could have been disbanded and about 40 of its executives, including prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, banned from politics for five years, forcing the formation of a new government.

Today’s preliminary hearing was called to decide whether the court would accept a case accusing the Democrats of failing to disclose illegal campaign contributions of €6m in 2005 from cement giant TPI Polene.

The complaint was filed to the Election Commission by an opposition Puea Thai Party member.

“Judges voted four to three to dismiss the case on grounds that the Election Commission did not follow proper legal procedure,” one of the judges said, reading the verdict aloud.

The ruling mirrors one from November 29 when judges ruled 4-2 that a separate case brought by the Election Commission had also not followed proper legal procedure.

In that case, the Democrats were accused of spending part of a €683,000 government fund without proper approval during the 2005 election campaign.

Critics of Mr Abhisit’s government are likely to see the twin rulings as further evidence that the legal system tilts in favour of the Democrats and against its rivals.

The country has been polarised since 2006, when then-prime minister and former Manchester City FC owner Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted by a military coup.

Mr Thaksin’s allies say the courts and the Democrats are pillars of the Thai establishment, which felt its power threatened by Mr Thaksin’s huge popularity with Thailand’s poor and working classes. The divisions laid open by the coup have since led to deadly violence.