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[Gene]

"The Election Commission has filed criminal complaints against Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and Deputy Interior Minister Boonjong Wongtrairat.

EC secretary-general Suthiphon Thaveechaiyagarn said the commission had filed a criminal complaint against Mr Suthep with the Region 8 Appeals Court accusing him of distributing student scholarships during the election last year of the provincial administration organisation (PAO) chief in Surat Thani. Mr Suthep's younger brother, Thani, was a candidate in the election.

The charges were announced just hours after fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra filed defamation charges against Mr Suthep, saying he slandered Mr Thaksin by claiming he wants to return as "president of Thailand". Also facing suits with Mr Suthep over the scholarships are Democrat MP for Surat Thani Chompol Kanjana and party canvasser Prapon Nilwatcharamani.

The three are accused of involvement in giving out scholarships to students shortly before the PAO election on April 20 last year.

Mr Suthiphon said the EC had also filed a criminal suit against Mr Boonjong. He stands accused of slandering a rival candidate when seeking a Nakhon Ratchasima MP seat during the Dec 23 election as a candidate of the dissolved People Power party. Mr Suthiphon admitted the EC's legal action against Mr Boonjong was rather late due to complicated legal procedures. He insisted the delay was not politically motivated.

The EC treats all politicians equally, he said. Those in the opposition camp today could become the government at any time.

Mr Suthiphon said although Mr Boonjong faced slander charges, the law did not require him to stand down as an MP. MPs who must step aside are those who receive red or yellow cards from the EC or those facing election fraud charges filed by the commission with the Supreme Court, he said.

In a related case, the EC has filed a suit in the Supreme Court's Election Case Division against Udon Thani MP Chaiyos Jiramethakorn of the Puea Pandin party. The commission earlier handed Mr Chaiyos a yellow card for assigning his canvassers to distribute items of value to voters."

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/1...uthep-complaint

[Hedda]

In case you were wondering like me, whether the Election Commission ( whose members are left-overs from the junta's days appointing officials) has started to realize that they were losing credibility fast in their seemingly partisan agenda, you got to look closer. This may be a lot less than it seems.

It's significant that the charges the EC filed against Khun Suthep, who is effectively the Prime Minister of Thailand these days, what with Junior Abhisit traveling everywhere but Thailand, were filed in the Region 8 Appeals Court. Just how local court politics will feature in the disposition of these charges remains to be seen. It could take years or this could be all smoke, mirrors - and no fire.

A lot of Thai politicians, including many Democrats, are wondering if Abhisit is capable of running a national coalition government with the likes of Newin and Banharn to control, without having of a battle-scarred veteran like Suthep in charge of the troops. Abhisit seems to consider himself far above such crass political matters. For that reason alone, don't bet the zoo that Suthep will get anything but a slap on the wrist from any court, if that, by the time the dust settles on this matter. There are too many open cages in this government to go without someone like Suthep.