By Xinhua
Bangkok : Thailand’s Election Commission (EC) Tuesday found the speaker of the house of representatives guilty of election fraud and decided to ask the Supreme Court to disqualify him.
The five-member commission voted 3-2 to move the court in the case against Yongyuth Tiyapairat, asking for a judicial review of his involvement in vote-buying activities, EC secretary general Suthiphon Thaveechaigarn said.
Tiyapairat is the deputy head of the People Power Party, which won a majority in the December general elections.
If the Supreme Court accepts the EC’s petition and orders a trial against Tiyapairat, he would be suspended as the speaker pending a ruling.
If convicted, Tiyapairat would lose his seat as member of parliament and would be banned to contest a by-election.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, also from PPP, said that he was stunned by the EC’s ruling to disqualify Tiyapairat and would check with the commission before deciding the next move.