BangkokPost.com
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the vote-buying case against House Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat as the People Power party puts on a brave face amid prospects that a guilty judgement could sink it.
The Supreme Court's election fraud section yesterday accepted the vote-buying case against Mr Yongyuth, who is also a PPP executive.
The case was presented by the Election Commission which asked the court to uphold its decision to red-card him for buying votes in his native Chiang Rai prior to the Dec 23 election.
He won the election and the EC endorsed the victory before he was elected by parliament to be House Speaker. The EC later found grounds to the allegation and handed him a red card, at which point he suspended himself as Speaker.
Suspension normally becomes mandatory once the Supreme Court accepts a case for hearing.
Yesterday, the court also took up a vote fraud case against Mr Yongyuth's sister, La-ong Tiyapairat, a PPP constituency MP for Chiang Rai.
The court ordered both of them to acknowledge the court's acceptance of their cases in seven days.
Mr Yongyuth did not go to court yesterday and sent a team of lawyers instead.
The admissibility of the Yongyuth case could eventually sink the PPP.
If the court finds him guilty, he would be stripped of his political rights for five years and the verdict would set in motion a process where the EC could ask the Constitution Court to disband the PPP as well.
The EC may find other executives of the PPP colluded with him in buying votes, which would provide grounds for dissolving the party.
However, the EC is consulting its legal advisers about whether, under the law, offences in which a party executive acted on his own could bring down his party.
They are interested in cases being considered by the EC in which coalition partners Chart Thai and Matchimathipataya parties are being marked for dissolution after their executives, who won MP seats in the Dec 23 polls, were disqualified for buying votes.
The outcome of these cases could set a precedent for the EC's decision on the PPP should Mr Yongyuth be found guilty by the Supreme Court.
Deputy Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said the court's acceptance of Mr Yongyuth's case would not destabilise the government.
PM's Office Minister Chusak Sirinil, also the PPP's legal expert, said the laws applicable to party dissolution were the product of the military coup and unfair to politicians.
One of Mr Yongyuth's lawyers, Karn Thiankaew, also a PPP deputy leader, accused the EC of double standards in its investigation into Mr Yongyuth's alleged vote buying.
Mr Karn said 20 witnesses would be called to defend Mr Yongyuth.
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Earlier story:
The Supreme Court decided on Thursday to hear the vote-buying charges against House Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat - a case which could shake the entire government.
The Supreme Court decided on Thursday to hear the vote-buying charges against House Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat - a case which could shake the entire government.
The court's criminal section for political office holders ordered Mr Yongyuth to pick up an official notice of the charges, but did not immediately set a trial date.
"The court has decided to hear the case and will send a letter to Yongyut Tiyapairat and (his sister) La-ong Tiyapairat to come and pick up a copy of the charges within seven days," a Supreme Court statement said.
Ms La-ong is also a defendant in the poll fraud case.
The Election Commission (EC) alleges that they committed fraud by paying and influencing village officials during the campaign leading up to the election last Dec 23.
Mr Yongyuth, 47, was instrumental in building support for ex-premier Thaksin Shinwatra in rural areas, particularly among poor farmers.
Mr Yongyuth suspended himself from duty after the EC recommended his disqualification for allegedly buying the votes in his native Chiang Rai province.
Mr Yongyuth has filed a police complaint against the election commissioners in return.
If the court finds him guilty, Mr Yongyuth could lose his political rights for five years, as well as his parliamentary seat.
A guilty verdict could also lead to a legal process for the dissolution of the People Power party (PPP). He was a deputy party leader at the time of the alleged offence.
