By NNN-TNA
Bangkok : The Thai Election Commission (EC) was expected to take between three to seven days to probe into ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s speech featured on a controversial CD before deciding whether or not the content was against election law, said EC Secretary-General Sutthipol Thaweechaikarn.
Mr. Sutthipol, who has been assigned to investigate the CD which has been widely distributed in northeastern Thailand, said EC members would study Thaksin’s remarks on the original CD compared to the version appearing in the media.
It might take the EC at least three days to reach a conclusion whether Thaksin’s speech – which explicated his support for the People Power Party (PPP) – had violated election law or not.
Stressing the EC did not prohibit election campaigning through the release of a CD, Mr. Sutthipol said, however, EC officials were fully authorized to stop distribution of the CD if it was against the law.
Mr. Thaksin’s political right was revoked after his Thai Rak Thai party was dissolved by a Constitutional Tribunal decision earlier this year for electoral fraud.
PPP leader Samak Sundaravej said earlier Sunday Mr. Thaksin’s supportive speech was not against election law, because the CD had been produced before the enactment of the royal decree on the general election.
Press reports have said some five million copies of the CD were believed to have been distributed in northeastern provinces.