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BANGKOK : Thailand's Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case accusing the People Power Party, which won recent elections, of being a proxy of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a court official said Friday.
The decision could jeopardise the future of the PPP -- made up of former members of Thaksin's dissolved Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party -- even though it won 233 of the 480 seats in December 23 polls, the first since the coup in 2006.
An official at the Supreme Court said that they would hear the case against the PPP on January 15. Other complaints against the Election Commission (EC), which could lead to the poll being nullified, will be heard January 11 and 16.
"The judge on Thursday ordered the court to hear three election fraud cases," said the court official, who did not want to be named.
Samak Sundaravej, the PPP's leader, accused unnamed elements of trying to sabotage their efforts to form a government.
"They are trying hard to topple us by asking the court to void the election," he said.
"There are many obstacles in politics because of the invisible and dirty hand," he told the Thai parliament radio station.
PPP's victory dealt a blow to the military, who tried to purge Thailand of Thaksin's influence after ousting him in a bloodless coup in September 2006.
The most serious complaint was filed by Democrat Party candidate Chaiwat Sinsuwong, who asked the court to rule on whether PPP was a nominee of TRT, which would be unlawful as a tribunal disbanded TRT in May last year.
He also questioned whether PPP broke election law by distributing CDs featuring Thaksin, who has been living in exile since the coup. The PPP could be dissolved if the court rules in Chaiwat's favour.
The two cases against the EC relate to the legality of advance voting, which was held on December 15-16.
The move comes after the EC announced Thursday that it was investigating 65 PPP election winners for alleged voting irregularities, potentially hitting the party's seat tally.
Samak said the EC's move was "an attempt to weaken the new government," but added that he was not overly concerned, as candidates still had a chance to prove their innocence.
"Everything will be fine after they testify to the EC. I am confident the EC is working honestly," he said.
Thaksin's former allies have been busy trying to patch together a coalition government that would give it a healthy majority in the lower house.
But political horse-trading was halted Wednesday after the death of Princess Galyani, sister of the revered king.
The PPP has so far been able to attract three small parties to its coalition, giving it a slim lead of 254 seats. Two other political outfits are still considering whether to join forces with the party.
Three PPP politicians have already been disqualified for vote buying, and the victories of more candidates could yet be overturned, shuffling the balance of power among the parties.
The Democrat Party came second in the polls with 165 seats. Six of their candidates are under investigation by the EC.
- AFP/ir
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